OpenAI has completed a $7 billion share buyback from employees, according to Bloomberg reporting dated August 10. The tender offer allowed staff to sell shares back to the company ahead of a potential initial public offering.
The buyback occurred at a $852 billion valuation, the figure at which the company last raised capital from external investors in October 2024. Tender offers of this scale are common before a public listing: they give employees liquidity on restricted stock and reduce the number of shareholders a company must disclose in IPO documentation, since all tendered shares consolidate into the buyer's cap table as treasury stock.
OpenAI has not announced an IPO date or formally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company said in January 2025 it was exploring going public. The $852 billion valuation would rank OpenAI among the most valuable private companies globally, behind only Stripe and a handful of infrastructure firms by most recent funding rounds.
Employee share programs at venture-backed AI companies have faced scrutiny as valuations climbed and liquidity events delayed. Staff at OpenAI, whose board includes Sam Altman as chair and Greg Brockman as president, have held equity grants since the company's founding in 2015. Secondary sales through tender offers allow early employees to diversify without triggering a public filing.
