OpenAI earmarks $50b stock grants for employees

OpenAI has set aside an employee stock grant pool equivalent to 10% of the company’s shares, worth about US$50 billion based on its October 2025 valuation of US$500 billion, according to The Information.

The company has already given US$80 billion in vested equity, making up about 26% of OpenAI’s total shares together with the new grant pool.

OpenAI has reportedly been in preliminary talks with some investors about raising funds at a valuation of around US$750 billion, up from the US$500 billion figure cited in October.

The company is a US-based AI research firm.

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

OpenAI equity uses capped-profit PPUs

OpenAI issues Profit Participation Units (PPUs), a profit-tied instrument with a 10x return cap, with any extra value going to the nonprofit parent 1.
PPUs carry a liquidation threshold and a two-year lock for newer hires, so staff cannot sell freely or know the total PPUs outstanding 1.
The $50 billion grant pool pays out mainly through company tender offers, where staff sell PPUs back to investors or the company, with a $6.6 billion tender in October 2025 at about a $500 billion valuation 2.
PPU sales can trigger large tax bills. In a hypothetical case a $1 million grant growing to $10 million leads to about $3 million of taxes, and Hendershott Wealth Management pegs the October 2025 tender at over $2 billion in aggregate staff taxes 2.

Recruiters can time poaching around OpenAI tenders and taxes

Rivals can watch when staff get liquidity, since the October 2025 tender followed a November 2024 sale 2.
Tax-savvy recruiters reach out after tenders when planning windows shrink. Hendershott Wealth Management says October events leave less time for loss harvesting than January ones, which can raise near-term taxes 2.
CNBC cites staff who say OpenAI is at least a year late on equity donation support, which some expected soon after a tender 3.
Competitors can study OpenAI hiring across roles to beat its pay. Levels.fyi (a crowdsourced tech compensation database) lists salaries from $144,275 to $1,265,000 and PPUs make up a large share 4.