OpenAI is increasing the size of its secondary share sale by more than $4 billion, CNBC has learned.
The artificial intelligence startup is giving eligible current and former employees the opportunity to sell roughly $10.3 billion in stock, up from the $6 billion it was initially targeting, according to a person familiar with the offering.
The sale will be at a $500 billion valuation, in line with expectations, said the person, who asked not to be named because the details are private. OpenAI’s latest fundraising round earlier this year valued the company at $300 billion.
OpenAI presented the offer to employees on Wednesday. Staffers who have held shares for more than two years have until the end of September to decide whether to participate, the person said. The transaction is slated to close in October.
Participating investors include SoftBank, Dragoneer Investment Group and Thrive Capital, Abu Dhabi’s MGX and T. Rowe Price, the person said.
OpenAI is among a handful of high-valued tech startups offering periodic opportunities for employees to sell a portion of their equity to lighten the pressure to go public. SpaceX, Stripe and Databricks have also used secondary sales to help employees lock in some gains.
In November, OpenAI allowed employees to sell about $1.5 billion worth of shares as part of a tender offer with SoftBank.
