OpenAI is exploring a secondary share sale that could value the company at $500 billion, a significant increase from its earlier valuation of $300 billion. The move, aimed at allowing current and former employees to cash in on their holdings, comes amid strong investor interest from firms like Thrive Capital and follows a period of rapid growth for the AI leader.

The sale would provide liquidity for employees while helping OpenAI retain top talent, especially as competition intensifies from rivals like Meta, which has been aggressively hiring AI researchers. This development follows OpenAI’s recent $8.3 billion raise as part of an oversubscribed $40 billion funding round led by SoftBank, highlighting investor confidence in its future.

OpenAI’s growth has been fueled by breakthrough AI models, its upcoming GPT-5 release, and soaring ChatGPT engagement, which is set to reach 700 million weekly active users this week. The company is also expanding into hardware with a $6.5 billion acquisition of an AI device startup co-founded by Apple veteran Jony Ive.

Despite its momentum, OpenAI faces challenges, including ongoing talks over its for-profit structure and renegotiations with Microsoft, its biggest backer. As these discussions unfold, the potential share sale could further cement OpenAI’s standing as one of the world’s most valuable private companies.

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