OpenAI to go public? ChatGPT-maker is looking to sell its shares at a valuation of $86 billion

According to sources familiar with the matter, OpenAI, the organization behind ChatGPT, is reportedly engaged in discussions to sell shares held by current employees at an $86 billion valuation.

This development follows a previous report from the Wall Street Journal last month, which stated that OpenAI, with backing from Microsoft, was aiming for a valuation of approximately $90 billion in a share sale.

ChatGPT, a chatbot that can generate human-like responses based on user prompts, has helped AI’s popularity erupt and has fueled a meteoric rise in the valuation of San Francisco-based OpenAI. The company had earlier this year made a $300 million share sale at a valuation of $30 billion.

OpenAI is negotiating a tender offer with potential investors, Bloomberg reported, adding that the firm has not finalized allocations and terms could still change.

Microsoft currently holds a substantial stake in OpenAI, after it invested about $10 billion earlier this year, and helped them out with a supercomputer to help run their simulations with. Before the $10 billion investment, Google had invested about $1 billion in OpenAI.

(With inputs from agencies)