OpenAI is reportedly holding preliminary discussions regarding a potential share sale for current and former employees, aiming for a valuation of around $500bn.

The move was reported by Bloomberg, citing individuals familiar with the investment talks.

According to the report, the ChatGPT-maker is contemplating a secondary stock sale valued at billions, with existing investors such as Thrive Capital expressing interest in purchasing employee shares.

However, OpenAI and Thrive representatives refused to comment on the development.

If successful, this transaction would boost OpenAI’s valuation by about two-thirds from its previous $300bn. The start-up achieved this valuation during a $40bn funding round led by SoftBank Group in March 2025.

The potential share sale follows recent news that OpenAI secured $8.3bn from a group of investors as part of the second tranche of the $40bn financing.

Recently, OpenAI has seen several research staff members depart for Meta Platforms, which has been actively recruiting top talent from different firms by offering substantial pay packages. A secondary sale could serve as an incentive for staff to remain with OpenAI amidst such competition.

Meanwhile, OpenAI continues to release new models. Recently, it has released two open-weight language models optimised for laptops. The company is also preparing to launch its latest GPT-5 model to maintain its competitive edge.

The startup anticipates that ChatGPT will reach 700 million weekly active users this week, up from 500 million in March 2025, with daily user messages surpassing 3 billion.

Despite these achievements, OpenAI faces challenges, including ongoing discussions about its future as a for-profit entity, which have continued for several months.

Microsoft, a major investor in the start-up, is renegotiating the partnership to seek continued access to OpenAI’s technology. The current agreement between the two companies is set to expire in 2030.