OpenAI Poised To Dethrone SpaceX With Mind-Blowing $500bn Valuation

OpenAI, the San Francisco-based creator of ChatGPT, is on the verge of securing a valuation of $500 billion (£375.7 billion) in a secondary share sale—placing it ahead of Elon Musk's SpaceX in market worth and signalling a dramatic shift in the global technology power balance.

According to sources cited by Bloomberg and Reuters, the AI pioneer is in early discussions with investors, including Thrive Capital, to purchase stock from current and former employees.

If finalised, the deal would raise OpenAI's valuation by two-thirds from its current $300 billion (£225 billion), eclipsing SpaceX's estimated $350–$400 billion (£262.9–£300.6 billion) price tag.

AI Supremacy: A New Frontier

The potential leap would mark one of the fastest value gains in the history of modern technology firms. OpenAI's expansion is being driven by the runaway success of ChatGPT, which now boasts an estimated 700 million weekly active users and is projected to generate up to $20 billion (£15 billion) in annual revenue by the end of 2025.

This trajectory could see the company overtaking Musk's rocket venture not just in valuation but also in perceived market influence—shifting the narrative from space exploration to artificial intelligence as the next defining frontier.

The OpenAI talks were first reported by Bloomberg, which stated that existing investors, including Thrive Capital, have approached the company to purchase shares from its employees. The Japanese investment firm SoftBank, which led the $300 billion (£225 billion) funding, and Microsoft are also investors in OpenAI.

The proposed transaction is a secondary share sale rather than a fundraising round, meaning existing equity holders—mostly employees—would sell their stakes to new investors. Such sales are a common tactic for retaining talent in the fiercely competitive AI sector while providing liquidity to early staff.

Heavyweights SoftBank and Microsoft—already major backers—are expected to play a role in the transaction, though final agreements have yet to be reached. Microsoft, which has invested billions into integrating OpenAI's models across its products, is reportedly in ongoing talks regarding the company's longer‑term governance structure.

The Battle for Top Talent

Share sales are a common strategy for tech startups to motivate their employees and attract new investors. A potential share sale could provide an incentive for OpenAI to retain top talent amid pressure from Mark Zuckerberg's Meta, which is also vying for top talent.

The Facebook parent company has been poaching staff from OpenAI and other firms as part of a recruitment effort to establish an AI' superintelligence' unit. OpenAI's chief executive, Sam Altman, stated that none of their top employees had left, even with Meta offering 'crazy' signing bonuses of $100m (£74m).

Rival AI firm Anthropic, founded by former OpenAI researchers, is also attracting significant funding and is reportedly seeking a valuation of $170 billion (£127.7 billion). The sector's capital-intensive nature means access to funding is critical, as model training requires vast computational resources and advanced semiconductor chips.

AI startups require a continuous influx of capital to train the increasingly complex models that power their products, a process that relies on expensive computer chips and data centre capacity.

What Comes Next for OpenAI

The report coincides with Altman's indication that an enhanced version of the ChatGPT-powering model was on its way. On Sunday, he shared a screenshot of what appeared to be the company's latest AI model, GPT-5.

On Tuesday, OpenAI also released two new open-weight models, a competitive response to Meta and China's DeepSeek, which have also introduced open AI models that can be freely downloaded and customised.

'We're excited to make this model, the result of billions of dollars of research, available to the world to get AI into the hands of the most people possible,' said Altman. The core of OpenAI's business, however, relies on 'closed' models, which do not allow for public access to their inner workings.

The Road to a For-Profit Future

The AI company generates revenue by charging for subscriptions to enhanced versions of ChatGPT or by integrating its models into other businesses. The company, which operates as a non-profit overseeing a for-profit division, is currently in discussions to transition into a conventional for-profit business.

The ongoing negotiations have reportedly been complicated by wrangling with Microsoft, and a final agreement is still pending.

The Push into Hardware

OpenAI is also venturing into hardware, having purchased a startup named 'io' from iPhone designer Sir Jony Ive in a $6.4 billion (£4.81 billion) deal.

Altman reportedly informed employees that the company intends to create 100 million AI 'companions' that will be integrated into people's daily lives.

Governance Shift Under Discussion

OpenAI currently operates under a unique structure: a non‑profit parent overseeing a capped‑profit subsidiary. Reports suggest that the company is exploring a transition to a traditional for-profit model, although negotiations with Microsoft and other stakeholders remain ongoing.