Artificial-intelligence research company OpenAI is in discussions over potentially selling at least $300 million in shares in a tender offer that would give it a roughly $29 billion valuation, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
The offering of shares of OpenAI — known for AI programs like the chatbot ChatGPT and the image-generator Dall-E 2 — would make it among the most highly-valued startups in the U.S., the Journal said. The valuation would be more than twice its valuation of $14 billion in 2021, according to the Journal.
Thrive Capital and Founders Fund are in discussions to invest in the offering, under which existing shareholders would sell their shares to other investors, according to the Journal, which cited people familiar with the matter. The deal terms could change and have not been finalized.
OpenAI, via a representative, declined to comment on the report.
Both ChatGPT and Dall-E 2 have generated a significant amount of buzz over the past year. ChatGPT’s users surpassed 1 million just days after it launched, OpenAI’s chief executive, Sam Altman, said in a tweet last month.
Microsoft Corp. MSFT, -2.96% invested $1 billion in OpenAI in 2019 and is reportedly planning to incorporate some of ChatGPT’s AI technology into its Bing search engine — potentially refashioning it into a more formidable rival to Alphabet Inc.’s GOOGL, -2.13% Google.
However, the Journal noted, some investors have cast doubt on Open AI’s sales potential.
Still, D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria said on Wednesday, OpenAI’s technology could ultimately bring significant benefits to Microsoft.
