ChatGPT maker OpenAI’s valuation has surged to $500 billion after workers and former employees cashed out $6.6 billion worth of shares in a secondary sale, a supply conversant in the deal instructed Reuters. With this valuation, the AI big has left behind SpaceX and ByteDance.The transaction lifts the factitious intelligence firm’s worth from $300 billion and highlights its fast progress in each customers and income. The shares have been bought by buyers together with Thrive Capital, SoftBank, Dragoneer Investment Group, Abu Dhabi’s MGX and T Rowe Price, the supply instructed Reuters.OpenAI had cleared gross sales of more than $10 billion of inventory on the secondary market, the supply added. SoftBank’s participation provides to its earlier funding in OpenAI’s $40 billion main funding spherical.Revenue on the firm has additionally been rising sharply. OpenAI generated round $4.3 billion within the first six months of 2025, about 16% greater than its whole earnings for the entire of final yr, based on the Information.The deal comes as know-how companies battle to safe prime AI expertise with beneficiant pay packages. Meta, as an illustration, has poured billions into Scale AI and just lately lured its 28-year-old founder Alexandr Wang to run its new superintelligence division.