OpenAI Buys Back $7 Billion in Employee Shares

OpenAI completed a tender offer to buy back approximately $7 billion worth of shares from current and former employees. The company funded this buyback internally, departing from previous tender offers that relied on outside investors such as Thrive Capital and SoftBank Group Corp.

This transaction values the company at $852 billion, which maintains the valuation set during its most recent funding round. In March, the company had raised $122 billion from venture capital firms and Big Tech companies.

The move provides insiders a way to liquidate holdings before a potential initial public offering. The company reportedly filed confidential paperwork for an IPO in June.