OpenAI has completed a secondary share sale totaling roughly $7 billion, CNBC confirmed on Monday, allowing current and former employees to sell stock at the company's $852 billion valuation. Bloomberg was first to report the figure.
The tender offer had been in the works since OpenAI closed its record-breaking $122 billion funding round in March, and it eases near-term pressure for liquidity by letting employees cash in a portion of their holdings ahead of a potentially massive IPO. Reports indicated the buyback was funded by OpenAI itself rather than new outside investors.
The sale is part of a pre-IPO strategy that has become routine for the ChatGPT maker: the company completed a $6.6 billion tender offer at a $500 billion valuation in October and a $1.5 billion tender in 2024. OpenAI confidentially filed its prospectus with the SEC in June, and analysts expect a public S-1 filing in mid-to-late August, keeping a late-2026 debut on the table. Rival Anthropic is in a similar position as both companies weigh going public at enormous valuations.
Sources
- cnbc.comOpenAI wraps $7 billion share sale ahead of potential IPO (CNBC)
- techcrunch.comOpenAI reportedly completed a $7 billion employee tender offer (TechCrunch)
- bloomberg.comOpenAI Buys Back $7 Billion of Employee Shares in Tender Offer (Bloomberg)
- beincrypto.comOpenAI Skips Outside Buyers for $7 Billion Tender as IPO Looms (BeInCrypto)
