OpenAI lets employees cash out up to $30 million each in share sale, valuation hits $400 billion: Report

Synopsis

OpenAI employees, both current and former, collectively sold $6.6 billion in shares during a secondary transaction in October 2025. This sale valued the artificial intelligence company at an estimated $400 billion, allowing approximately 75 participants to liquidate up to $30 million each in equity.

OpenAI permitted employees to sell up to $30 million worth of shares each in a recent secondary transaction, positioning hundreds of current and former staff among the earliest financial beneficiaries of the artificial intelligence boom, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal on Monday.

More than 600 current and former employees of OpenAI sold shares worth a combined $6.6 billion in a secondary transaction conducted in October last year. The sale valued the artificial intelligence company at approximately $400 billion, it said.

The transaction allowed eligible employees to liquidate portions of their equity holdings. Approximately 75 participants sold the maximum permitted amount of $30 million each.