The World's Most Expensive Startup! OpenAI's Valuation Soars to $500 Billion

OpenAI has completed employee stock sales, pushing its valuation to $500 billion, surpassing SpaceX. The $6.6 billion share sale fell short of the cap, a figure sources familiar with the matter said demonstrates employee confidence in the company's long-term prospects.

OpenAI has completed a transaction allowing current and former employees to sell approximately $6.6 billion worth of company stock at a $500 billion valuation, according to sources familiar with the matter. This makes the ChatGPT maker, which surpasses Elon Musk's SpaceX, the world's most valuable startup.

A source familiar with the matter said current and former OpenAI employees sold approximately $6.6 billion in stock to investors including Thrive Capital, SoftBank, Dragoneer Investment Group, Abu Dhabi's MGX, and T. Rowe Price. This values ​​the US company well above the $300 billion it secured in a SoftBank-led funding round earlier this year.

This rapid valuation increase highlights the market's enthusiasm for a technology leader with the potential to transform industries and the economy. OpenAI, led by Sam Altman, is leading a global wave of data center construction and AI service development, along with companies like Nvidia, an undertaking expected to cost trillions of dollars. Although not yet profitable, the US startup is fueling the boom in AI infrastructure by securing mega-deals with giants like Oracle and SK Hynix.

This deal has catapulted OpenAI's valuation past SpaceX's $400 billion valuation. This milestone comes at a crucial time for Altman's company, which is in talks with Microsoft about transitioning to a more traditional, for-profit enterprise.

Founded in 2015, OpenAI began as a nonprofit dedicated to advancing digital intelligence "in the manner most likely to benefit humanity." The plan is for the current nonprofit entity to control a new public benefit corporation.

Both Altman and Musk, co-founders of OpenAI, have spoken out about the existential risks that artificial intelligence poses to humanity. However, the two later fell out: Musk has filed a lawsuit seeking to halt OpenAI's transformation, alleging the company reneged on promises made to him when he helped found the nonprofit. He claims OpenAI has strayed from its founding mission since accepting a multi-billion dollar investment from Microsoft in 2019, the year after he left OpenAI's board.

Business-wise, OpenAI faces increasing competition for AI talent as large tech companies vie for needed resources. Meta Platforms, for example, is aggressively recruiting researchers from OpenAI and other leading labs to form its new "superintelligence" team, offering nine-figure compensation packages.

The secondary market share sale may help OpenAI incentivize employee retention and resist lucrative salary offers.

Large US startups often negotiate stock sales for employees as a way to reward and retain them and attract outside investors. OpenAI hopes to capitalize on investor demand to provide employees with liquidity that reflects the company's growth.

A person familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity because the information is private, said the total amount of eligible shares sold in the secondary market fell below the company's permitted sales limit of more than $10 billion. The person added that this may indicate confidence among current and former employees in the company's long-term viability.

Over the long term, OpenAI faces increasing pressure from competitors like Google and Anthropic, which is also rapidly raising capital.

In response, OpenAI recently launched a series of technological products, including two open-source, free AI models that mimic human reasoning. This follows months of China's DeepSeek gaining global attention for its open-source software. In August, OpenAI released its most powerful model, GPT-5, aiming to solidify its lead in an increasingly competitive field.