OpenAI is reportedly in early-stage discussions with investors for a secondary share sale that would value the company at an eye-popping $500 billion, according to two people familiar with the talks. The deal, if completed, would allow current and former employees to cash out equity, rather than bringing in new primary capital. The sources, who asked to remain anonymous due to the private nature of the discussions, said that Thrive Capital — an existing OpenAI backer — is likely to play a leading role in the potential round.
The proposed $500 billion valuation would mark another staggering leap for OpenAI, which earlier this year announced a massive $40 billion financing round led by SoftBank, at a valuation of around $300 billion.
Bloomberg was first to report on the talks.
From $300B to $500B — In Less Than a Year
The growth in OpenAI’s valuation has been relentless since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, which put the company at the center of the generative AI boom. With partnerships that now span enterprise, cloud, education, and consumer applications, OpenAI has quickly gone from research outfit to commercial juggernaut.
Just last week, the company confirmed it had closed an $8.3 billion tranche tied to its previous round — already the largest fundraising event in private tech history.
Revenue Soars, User Growth Explodes
According to prior reporting by CNBC, OpenAI’s annual recurring revenue (ARR) is on track to exceed $20 billion by the end of 2025, doubling from $10 billion just two months ago. A big part of that growth has come from enterprise adoption of its API and custom GPTs, as well as the commercial expansion of ChatGPT Team and Enterprise tiers.
Meanwhile, OpenAI confirmed earlier this week that ChatGPT usage has surged to 700 million weekly active users, a milestone that underscores the platform’s global ubiquity — and increasing stickiness.
New Open-Weight Models Hint at Strategic Shift
In parallel with the financial developments, OpenAI announced the release of two open-weight language models on Tuesday — the first since the debut of GPT-2 back in 2019. Designed as lower-cost, customizable alternatives for developers and researchers, the move signals a more open stance from a company previously criticized for keeping its most powerful models tightly locked down.
It also positions OpenAI more competitively against other AI firms offering open-source or partially open models, particularly in academic and small business settings.
Competition Isn’t Slowing Down
Even with its $500 billion valuation OpenAI isn’t operating in a vacuum. Rival startup Anthropic is also in fundraising mode — reportedly seeking $3 billion to $5 billion in fresh capital at a potential $170 billion valuation, according to sources familiar with the deal. That’s nearly triple the company’s March valuation of $61.5 billion.
Anthropic, backed by Google, Amazon, and Salesforce, has also seen rapid adoption of its Claude models, which now power tools used across productivity, customer service, and development environments.
The Bottom Line: This Is More Than a Bubble — It’s a Real Business
With sky-high ARR, rapidly expanding user bases, and an accelerating product cadence, OpenAI appears to be building a case that it’s not just a hot startup — it’s a tech giant in the making. A $500 billion valuation, while jaw-dropping, would place it in the same valuation stratosphere as TSMC, Tesla, and Berkshire Hathaway.
Still, the secondary sale talks are early, and it’s unclear how much equity would be made available — or at what terms. But if the deal closes anywhere near the rumored price, it would make OpenAI one of the most valuable privately held companies in history.
