OpenAI has reached an eye-watering valuation of $500 billion following a major secondary share sale in which current and former employees sold roughly $6.6 billion in shares, sources familiar with the matter said.

Previously valued at approximately $300 billion, the jump underscores surging demand and strong confidence in the generative AI leader’s future trajectory.

In the transaction, shares were purchased by leading investors including Thrive Capital, SoftBank, Dragoneer Investment Group, Abu Dhabi’s MGX, and T. Rowe Price.

OpenAI had authorized over $10 billion of share sales on the secondary market, though only a portion changed hands in this deal. Interestingly, many employees chose not to sell, which some analysts interpret as a strong signal of internal confidence.

Recent financials bolster the valuation: in the first half of 2025, OpenAI generated about $4.3 billion in revenue—roughly 16% more than its total in 2024. Despite high R&D and compute costs, the company still held ~$17.5 billion in cash and securities as of mid-2025.

The success of the sale and valuation leap come amid fierce competition in AI. Giants like Meta are ramping up investments in AI infrastructure, intensifying the arms race for talent and technology.

Analysts caution, however, that such elevated valuations carry risks if growth or margins don’t keep pace. Some voices in tech are already raising concerns of valuation “froth” in AI stocks.

Going forward, key metrics to watch will include OpenAI’s margin expansion, continued revenue growth, operational leverage, and how it navigates scaling compute infrastructure sustainably.