OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has reached a valuation of $500 billion after current and former employees sold about $6.6 billion worth of shares, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.
The new valuation marks a sharp rise from the company’s previous $300 billion valuation, highlighting OpenAI’s rapid growth in both users and revenue. Reuters had reported earlier in August on plans for the stock sale.
The deal saw OpenAI employees sell shares to a group of investors that included Thrive Capital, SoftBank, Dragoneer Investment Group, Abu Dhabi’s MGX, and T. Rowe Price, according to the source, who requested anonymity as they were not authorised to speak publicly. The company had approved more than $10 billion worth of stock sales on the secondary market, the source added.
Thrive Capital, SoftBank, Dragoneer, MGX, and T. Rowe Price did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The share sale builds on SoftBank’s earlier investment during OpenAI’s $40 billion primary funding round.
According to The Information, OpenAI generated around $4.3 billion in revenue in the first half of 2025, a 16% increase compared to its total revenue for all of last year.
The sale comes as global tech giants compete fiercely for AI talent, offering lucrative compensation packages. Meta, for instance, has invested billions in Scale AI and recently hired its 28-year-old CEO, Alexandr Wang, to lead a new superintelligence unit. __Reuters
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