Particle.news
Download on the App Store

OpenAI Employees Sell $6.6 Billion in Shares in Pre-IPO Tender

The payout underscores how private AI wealth is being realized before any public listing.

Overview

  • The tender offer, held in October 2025, let more than 600 current and former workers sell shares worth about $6.6 billion.
  • The sale valued OpenAI at about $400 billion and raised the per-person limit from $10 million to $30 million, which about 75 sellers reached.
  • Many workers moved remaining holdings into donor-advised funds to lock in tax benefits for future giving.
  • Employees who joined after ChatGPT could sell after a two-year hold, and early grants have risen more than 100-fold.
  • OpenAI exposure is now showing up in venture tokens after Robinhood Ventures bought about $75 million of stock, though those tokens do not confer actual shares.