OpenAI has completed a roughly US$7 billion secondary share sale that allowed current and former employees to sell shares at a US$852 billion valuation.

The deal gives employees liquidity ahead of a potential initial public offering (IPO) after OpenAI confidentially filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in June.

The tender offer had been in the works since OpenAI closed a US$122 billion funding round in March.

Because the transaction is secondary, it does not provide new capital to OpenAI. Instead, the proceeds go to employees and former employees who sold their shares.

OpenAI also completed a US$6.6 billion tender offer at a US$500 billion valuation in October 2025 and a US$1.5 billion tender offer in 2024.

Rival Anthropic is in a similar position, with employees also able to sell shares through secondary transactions.

OpenAI has not disclosed a timeline for a potential market debut.

🔗 Source: CNBC

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