OpenAI Surpasses SpaceX With $500 Billion Valuation
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Key Points
- OpenAI now valued at $500B after secondary share sale
- Surpasses SpaceX as the world’s most valuable startup
- $6.6B in employee shares sold to major global investors
OpenAI has become the most valuable startup on the planet, reaching a $500 billion valuation after employees and former staff sold $6.6 billion worth of shares. Investors in the sale included SoftBank, Thrive Capital, Abu Dhabi’s MGX, Dragoneer, and T. Rowe Price. Despite offering up to $10 billion in stock, employees chose to sell less, showing confidence in the company’s future growth.
The jump marks a massive leap from the $300 billion valuation OpenAI achieved earlier this year. It highlights the flood of global investment into AI as companies and governments bet big on its transformative potential. The new valuation puts OpenAI above Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which had long held the crown as the world’s most valuable private startup.
Beyond valuation, the move is a strategic play to retain talent. Rival tech giants, especially Meta, have been aggressively targeting OpenAI engineers with multimillion-dollar pay offers. By allowing staff to cash out while staying, OpenAI strengthens loyalty and reduces the risk of losing its top talent during a critical phase of AI competition.
