OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, has reached a valuation of $500 billion following a share sale involving SoftBank and other investors. This represents a significant jump from the company’s previous valuation of $300 billion.
Under the deal, current and former employees sold approximately $6.6 billion worth of shares. Investors include SoftBank, Thrive Capital, Dragoneer Investment Group, Abu Dhabi-based MGX, and T. Rowe Price.
OpenAI’s revenue of $4.3 billion in the first half of the year has already exceeded last year’s total revenue by 16%.
This also reveals how rapidly the company’s user base and revenue growth are progressing.It is noteworthy that the share sale coincides with a period when tech giants are spending billions of dollars on AI capabilities. For example, Meta invested billions in Scale AI, bringing its young CEO, Alexandr Wang, to head its new superintelligence unit.
With this development, OpenAI’s market capitalization now surpasses many traditional tech giants, demonstrating that investment appetite in the AI sector remains very high.
