OpenAI Completes $6.6B Share Sale at $500B Valuation

OpenAI has completed a $6.6 billion secondary share sale that values the company at $500 billion, a significant increase from its prior $300 billion valuation earlier in 2025. This transaction involved current and former employees selling shares to a consortium of investors including Thrive Capital, SoftBank, Dragoneer Investment Group, Abu Dhabi's MGX, and T. Rowe Price. The sale reflects strong investor confidence and positions OpenAI as the world's most valuable privately held company, surpassing SpaceX's $456 billion valuation. This secondary sale also underscores OpenAI's rapid revenue growth, with $4.3 billion generated in the first half of 2025, and occurs amid fierce competition for artificial intelligence talent, highlighted by Meta's aggressive recruitment efforts. The move allows employees to monetize shares while maintaining OpenAI's private status, a strategy shared by other high-profile startups to retain talent. OpenAI's escalating valuation and financial performance solidify its leadership in the AI sector and attract continued investment interest.