OpenAI's shares sale could raise value of firm to $500bn

OpenAI is reportedly in early talks about a sale of shares held by current and former employees that would value it at half a trillion dollars, overtaking Elon Musk's SpaceX.

- Dan Milmo

If the transaction goes ahead, the value of the ChatGPT developer would rise by about two-thirds, from $300bn (£225bn). Musk's rocket company is currently worth $350bn and is reportedly circling a $400bn price tag in a new fundraising.

Bloomberg, which first reported the OpenAI talks, said existing investors, including Thrive Capital, have approached the company about buying employee shares. Other investors in OpenAI, which is based in San Francisco, include the Japanese investment company SoftBank, which led the $300bn financing, and Microsoft.

OpenAI and Thrive Capital both declined to comment.

OpenAI is also under competitive pressure from Mark Zuckerberg's Meta to retain leading staff members, with a share sale possibly offering an incentive to stay. The Facebook parent has poached staff from OpenAI and others in a hiring drive to build an AI "superintelligence" unit.