San Francisco-based artificial intelligence leader OpenAI has achieved a staggering $500 billion valuation following a massive secondary share sale by current and former employees, cementing its status as the world’s most valuable startup—surpassing rivals like SpaceX and ByteDance.
According to people familiar with the matter, employees sold approximately $6.6 billion in shares to a prestigious consortium of investors, including Thrive Capital, Dragoneer Investment Group, T. Rowe Price, Japanese tech giant SoftBank, and UAE’s MGX. The transaction underscores robust investor confidence in the future of AI.
In a statement explaining its participation, SoftBank emphasized its mission to achieve artificial superintelligence (ASI) and described OpenAI as the partner closest to reaching that goal. The AI firm’s heavy investment in innovation was reflected in its R&D spending, which reached $6.7 billion in the first half of the year.
Financially, OpenAI’s performance continues to impress. It generated $4.3 billion in revenue during the first half of 2025—a 16% increase over its total for all of last year. Annual recurring revenue jumped from $10 billion in June to $13 billion and is projected to surpass $20 billion by year-end. Meanwhile, its base of business customers paying for ChatGPT surged from 3 million to 5 million in just a few months.
Despite its impressive revenue growth, OpenAI has yet to turn a profit. Concerns remain that if generative AI products fail to meet investor expectations, it could amplify fears of an AI bubble.
CEO Sam Altman addressed these concerns during a recent visit to a data center under construction in Abilene, Texas. There will be booms and busts, he acknowledged. People will overinvest and lose money, and underinvest and miss huge revenue opportunities. Still, he expressed strong conviction that AI will ultimately unleash a new wave of unprecedented economic growth.
In a week of strategic expansion, OpenAI also launched two major initiatives: a ChatGPT-powered shopping feature in collaboration with Etsy and Shopify, and Sora, a new social app for creating and sharing AI-generated videos.
