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OpenAI Hits $500 Billion Valuation, Overtaking SpaceX as Top Startup

The employee share sale provides staff liquidity during a fierce fight for AI talent.

Overview

  • Current and former employees sold about $6.6 billion in stock to buyers including Thrive Capital, SoftBank, Dragoneer, MGX and T. Rowe Price.
  • The tender totaled $6.6 billion, below the more than $10 billion the company authorized for sale.
  • The new mark surpasses SpaceX’s roughly $400 billion valuation and follows a SoftBank‑led $40 billion primary round that valued OpenAI near $300 billion in March.
  • Reported revenue reached about $4.3 billion in the first half of 2025, with large infrastructure efforts spanning Oracle cloud deals, SK Hynix chip partnerships and reported plans with Nvidia to invest up to $100 billion in new systems.
  • OpenAI is pursuing a corporate restructuring with Microsoft toward a conventional for‑profit entity, with regulatory scrutiny noted in California and Delaware.