OpenAI's $500 Billion Power Play: Is This the Hottest Deal in Tech Right Now?

OpenAI is weighing a massive secondary stock sale that could push its valuation to around $500 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The deal still in early discussions would allow current and former employees to cash out some of their shares, with existing investors like Thrive Capital reportedly circling. If completed, this would mark a roughly 67% jump from OpenAI's previous $300 billion valuation tied to a $40 billion raise, one of the largest in private tech history. The move isn't just about rewarding staff it's also a strategic play to retain top talent in the face of fierce poaching from rivals like Meta, which has dangled nine-figure packages to lure researchers away.

The timing is no coincidence. OpenAI recently secured $8.3 billion in a second tranche of that same $40 billion round, which one source said was oversubscribed by about five times. This fresh capital comes as the company doubles down on product and platform expansion. ChatGPT usage is climbing fast reportedly hitting 700 million weekly active users while the app now processes over 3 billion messages per day. OpenAI is also preparing its next major release, GPT-5, which is undergoing internal testing. While no official launch date has been announced, the model is expected to reinforce OpenAI's lead amid growing competition. On the hardware front, the company is moving ahead with a nearly $6.5 billion all-stock acquisition of a device startup co-founded by Apple design veteran Jony Ive.

But the company isn't without friction points. Key investors are still in discussions over how OpenAI should be structured going forward including Microsoft MSFT, which has poured in more than $13 billion. At the heart of those talks is Microsoft's stake and long-term access to OpenAI's tech, with the current deal set to run through 2030. As OpenAI races to define its next chapter spanning AI platforms, consumer hardware, and employee retention investors are left with a familiar question: how much more upside is still on the table?