The tender offer will be open to current and former employees who have held their shares for at least two years. This comes as a crucial move for tech employees in the face of a dormant IPO market and soaring company valuations. OpenAI, which has a valuation of $157 billion, has raised approximately $13 billion from investors including Microsoft, Nvidia, and SoftBank. The company is expected to allow more secondary sales in the future due to investor demand and the capital-intensive nature of the business.
Key takeaways:
- OpenAI is allowing employees to sell roughly $1.5 billion worth of shares in a new tender offer to SoftBank, allowing the Japanese tech conglomerate to get an even larger stake in the AI startup.
- Employees will have until Dec. 24 to decide if they want to participate in the new tender offer, which is not related to OpenAI's potential plans to restructure the firm to a for-profit business.
- OpenAI's valuation has climbed to $157 billion in the two years since launching ChatGPT, and it has raised roughly $13 billion from Microsoft, closing its latest $6.6 billion round in October.
- The company expects to allow more secondary sales and will need to tap private markets again in the future based on demand from investors and the capital-intensive nature of the business.