Openai, which is best known to make a company chat, is in the early stages of planning a stock sales, which can give the employees a share of their holdings, according to the Reuters. If the deal is done, the company’s evaluation may climb to about 500 billion dollars, currently a jump from an evaluation of $ 300 billion.

According to people aware of the talks, there will be transactions before any public list of the company. This will allow both current and former employees to sell several billion dollars shares. Such a step will not only give employees a chance to convert paper money into cash, but will also update the evaluation of the company in the private market.

Discussion takes place at a time when the growth curve of openi is erected. Its major product, Chatgpt, continues to attract new users at a rapid pace. The company’s weekly active users now range about 400 million to about 700 million in February this year. In the revenue side, Openai doubled its earnings in the first seven months of 2024, reaching an annual run rate of $ 12 billion. If the current speed continues, the figure may touch $ 20 billion by the end of the year.

The employed employee share sales follows a pre -fundamental round declared in 2024, where OpenI targets $ 40 billion in the new investment. The Japanese group SoftBank Group is leading the era with a commitment of $ 22.5 billion, which is expected to be funded by the year. The remaining part of the investment has already been raised on the evaluation of $ 300 billion. Microsoft, a long -standing partner and a backer, remains an important investor.

Private stock sales have become rapidly common among large unrestaded technology firms. They serve a dual purpose, reward longitarm employees and set a new benchmark for the company’s evaluation. Firms such as bidence, databricics and ramps have made all equal transactions. In the case of Openai, existing investors such as Thrive Capital are asked in conversation to participate in stock sales, although no formal announcements have been made yet.

This step is against the backdrop of an intensive fight for talent in the artificial intelligence field. Tech Major is offering unprecedented pay packages to woo top engineers and researchers. For example, Meta is allegedly spending billions on Scale AI in a dialect to recruit its 28yearold CEO, Alexandra Wang to lead a new superintending unit.

While stock sales will be a big step, Openai is also working on major changes in its corporate structure. Reports suggest that the company plans to replace its current capprofit model, a structure that limits the investor gives a return to one that can better support the future expansion. Such changes can make it easier for the company to go publicly when the time is right.

Openai’s Chief Financial Officer, Sarah Fire said in May that an IPO is not on the immediate horizon. He insisted that a list would be only when both the company and the comprehensive market situation are favorable.

If employed transactions occur at an evaluation of proposed $ 500 billion, it will make Openai one of the world’s most valuable private technical companies. Even more importantly, it can create lifelong payments for many employees, can convert the company’s paper valuation into real financial awards for those who helped create its technology.