OpenAI has reportedly completed a secondary share sale worth roughly US$7 billion (A$9.91 billion), allowing current and former employees to sell shares at the company's $852 billion valuation.
The tender offer has been in the works since OpenAI closed its record $122 billion funding round in March. The transaction is expected to ease near-term liquidity pressures by allowing employees to cash in part of their holdings ahead of a potentially massive initial public offering.
Bloomberg was first to report the $7 billion figure.
OpenAI rose to prominence following the launch of its ChatGPT chatbot in 2022 and has since become one of the world's fastest-growing private companies.
The company confidentially filed its prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission in June, although it has not disclosed an official timeline for a public listing.
Secondary share sales have become an important part of OpenAI's pre-IPO strategy.
The company completed a $6.6 billion tender offer at a $500 billion valuation in October, followed by a $1.5 billion tender offer in 2024.
