ChatGPT-parent OpenAI, a leading artificial intelligence startup, has finalized an agreement that permits its employees to sell their shares in the company.
This tender offer places the company’s valuation at $86 billion, ranking OpenAI as one of the most valuable tech startups worldwide, reported Bloomberg on Friday, citing a person familiar with the matter.
The deal was reportedly led by Thrive Capital, the venture capital outfit steered by Josh Kushner. Both OpenAI and Thrive Capital have opted not to comment on the proceedings.
The share sale was initially slated for last year, but a delay ensued following the ousting of OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman in November. Since then, Altman has been reinstated and the company is currently appointing a new board of directors.
OpenAI is also considering raising new funding that could potentially value the company at over $100 billion. Altman is concurrently working to secure billions of dollars to boost the global supply of advanced computing chips.
This development comes on the heels of OpenAI’s successful launch of ChatGPT, an AI chatbot, which sparked an AI frenzy in Silicon Valley. The company has secured $13 billion from Microsoft Corporation MSFT and other investors.
Earlier this week, OpenAI unveiled Sora, a text-to-video generator capable of producing cinematic video clips based on text prompts.
OpenAI’s success with ChatGPT has been a significant driver of this growth, with revenues soaring beyond $2 billion annually last year, placing it among the fastest-growing technology companies ever.
Moreover, OpenAI’s potential to disrupt the tech industry is further evidenced by its reported development of a web search tool that could rival Google, a feat that even its backer, Microsoft, has struggled to achieve.