Microsoft-backed OpenAI nears stock sale at $90B valuation - report
Leon Neal
OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company backed by billions of dollars by Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), is in talks to sell shares to investors that will value the company at $90 billion.
A private stock tender offer is expected to close next Thursday, according to a NY Post report late Thursday, which cited people familiar with the matter.
There appears to be a lot of interest from investors in the Middle East, though there could be issues with fundraising given the current Israel-Hamas war, according to the report.
The Post report comes after the WSJ last month said OpenAI had spoken with investors about an existing share sale that could value the company as much as $90 billion. The share sale would allow employees to sell existing shares and not issue new shares, though the terms of the deal could change, the WSJ said.
OpenAI is generating sales of $1.3 billon a year, CEO Sam Altman told staff this week, the Information reported, citing several people familiar with the matter. Altmanâs comments imply the company is generating more than $100M a month, up 30% from this summer, mostly from conversational chatbot subscriptions. That compares to sales of $28M in 2022.
Reuters reported Thursday that OpenAI intends to unveil major updates for developers next month to make it cheaper and faster to develop software applications based on its artificial intelligence, or AI, models.

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