More Than 600 OpenAI Employees Sold $6.6 Billion in Company Stock

OpenAI allowed more than 600 current and former employees to sell company stock last October in a tender offer that generated $6.6 billion in total proceeds. The employees collectively sold shares worth that amount, producing an average of about $11 million per person.

The company facilitated the sales amid sustained high valuations attached to its artificial intelligence technology. The tender offer provided liquidity to participants who had received equity compensation in prior years. Such arrangements have become more common at privately held technology firms that delay initial public offerings while raising successive rounds of venture capital at elevated prices.

Current and former staff who joined OpenAI before its rapid valuation growth were able to realize gains from their holdings. The company has not commented publicly on the tender offer details or future plans for additional liquidity events. Similar share sales have occurred at other high-profile private companies seeking to retain talent without going public.

OpenAI's valuation has climbed sharply in recent years as its ChatGPT product drew widespread adoption and its underlying models advanced. Investors have competed to buy secondary shares, supporting the high per-share prices reflected in the employee sales.

The $6.6 billion tender represents one of the largest single liquidity events for employees at a private artificial intelligence firm to date. It underscores the financial incentives that have helped the company attract and retain researchers and engineers in a competitive labor market.