OpenAI Surges to $500B, Passes SpaceX as Top Private Firm

OpenAI Surges to $500 Billion, Passes SpaceX as Top Private Firm

Written by Aaron S.,

Editor-In-Chief

Last Updated: October 03, 2025

Key Takeaways

OpenAI hit a $500 billion valuation after a $6.6 billion employee share sale, which overtook SpaceX’s $400 billion estimate;
The sale let staff sell shares to investors like Thrive, SoftBank, Dragoneer, MGX, and T. Rowe Price;
Investor demand remains strong, as OpenAI partners with Nvidia on a more than $100 billion AI infrastructure plan.

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OpenAI has become the most valued private company globally, following a $6.6 billion share sale that set its valuation at $500 billion.

This development puts it ahead of SpaceX, which has been estimated at around $400 billion, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The share sale was not part of a new fundraising round. Instead, it gave current and former OpenAI employees, who had held stock for more than two years, the option to sell their shares.

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The buyers included investment firms such as Thrive Capital, Dragoneer, SoftBank Group, Abu Dhabi’s MGX, and asset manager T. Rowe Price.

This is the second time within a year that OpenAI has offered employees a chance to sell shares. A similar offer took place in November 2024 when SoftBank led a $1.5 billion purchase. In January, reports suggested SoftBank was also considering a much larger investment, possibly up to $25 billion.

Investor interest in OpenAI remains strong, despite the public attention surrounding its upcoming AI model, GPT-5. In September, OpenAI and Nvidia announced a long-term infrastructure plan.

Under this partnership, OpenAI will use at least 10 gigawatts of Nvidia technology, and Nvidia will provide up to $100 billion over time, tied to the deployment of each gigawatt.

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