OpenAI completes 7 billion dollar employee tender offer at flat 852 billion dollar valuation, self-funded without outside investors
OpenAI bought back about $7 billion in employee shares in a tender that closed at its $852 billion valuation, flat with its March funding round. Unlike prior tenders, OpenAI funded this one itself rather than relying on outside investors like Thrive Capital or SoftBank.
OpenAI completed a roughly $7 billion tender offer to buy back shares from employees, closing at an $852 billion valuation, the same level the company reached in its $122 billion funding round in March, according to a person familiar with the deal cited by Bloomberg and confirmed by other outlets including TechCrunch. The deal marks a departure from OpenAI's previous tenders: this one was funded by OpenAI itself using cash from the March round, rather than relying on outside investors such as Thrive Capital and SoftBank, which participated in earlier buybacks. OpenAI employees have now sold more than $9 billion in shares across at least eight prior sales, including $6.6 billion last October, bringing the cumulative total to about $16 billion. The valuation holding flat between the March round and this tender is notable because it is the first flat print across OpenAI's run of buybacks. OpenAI filed confidentially for an IPO with the SEC in June, a filing that remains outstanding. A tender priced at the same level as the last primary round, rather than higher, suggests investor demand for OpenAI shares in secondary transactions has not accelerated ahead of any public listing.