In a significant development, current and former employees of OpenAI are preparing to sell nearly $6 billion worth of company shares to investors, including SoftBank Group, Thrive Capital, and Dragoneer Investment Group. This secondary stock sale would potentially value OpenAI at $500 billion, a substantial increase from its current $300 billion valuation. The move underscores OpenAI's rapid growth in users and revenue, highlighting the intense competition among artificial intelligence firms for talent and investment. The deal is still in early discussion stages, and the final amount may vary.
This potential sale adds to SoftBank's role in leading OpenAI's $40 billion primary funding round. OpenAI, heavily backed by Microsoft, has experienced a surge in popularity, with ChatGPT reaching approximately 700 million weekly active users, up from 400 million in February. The company also saw its revenue double in the first seven months of the year, achieving a projected annual run rate of $12 billion and aiming for $20 billion by year-end. These developments reflect OpenAI's significant impact on the AI industry and its promising future.