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In February 2024, a tender offer led by Thrive Capital gave OpenAI employees and other existing shareholders an opportunity to sell shares. The transaction implied a valuation above $80 billion, with contemporary reporting putting it at about $86 billion. That was a value assigned to the company through a share sale—not $80 billion of new cash raised by OpenAI.
What happened in February 2024?
OpenAI completed a reported tender offer in which investors bought existing shares from shareholders, including employees. Thrive Capital led the offer, according to contemporary coverage. Bloomberg’s reported figure implied a valuation of approximately $86 billion; other reports described the value as more than $80 billion. The transaction was first reported by The New York Times, according to Thurrott’s contemporary summary.
The valuation was nearly three times the approximately $27 billion–$29 billion associated with OpenAI’s 2023 share sale. Comparing the reported $86 billion figure with that earlier range gives an approximate 3.0×–3.2× increase. These are private-transaction valuations, not public-market prices or guaranteed cash values for every share.
Did OpenAI raise more than $80 billion?
No. The $80 billion-plus figure described the valuation implied by the share transaction, not the amount of money OpenAI received. The distinction is whether investors buy newly issued shares from the company or existing shares from current holders.
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| Transaction type | What is sold | Where the money generally goes |
|---|---|---|
| Primary financing | Newly issued shares | The company receives capital. |
| Secondary sale or tender offer | Existing shares | Selling shareholders receive proceeds. |
A tender offer can sometimes combine new capital for a company with secondary sales, but the available reporting supports describing OpenAI’s February 2024 transaction as a tender offer or secondary share sale. It does not establish that the reported purchase amount went onto OpenAI’s balance sheet. OpenAI separately announced a $6.6 billion financing at a $157 billion post-money valuation on October 2, 2024; that was a distinct new-money event (OpenAI’s announcement).
What does a private-company valuation mean?
A private valuation is an implied price derived from a transaction and its terms. It is not the same as a public company’s market capitalization, cash available to spend, or a guaranteed price at which every shareholder could sell. A tender offer can give participating holders a route to liquidity while leaving other shares private and subject to different restrictions or terms.
For employees, the practical value was the opportunity to sell some shares before an IPO, acquisition, or another company-approved sale. A higher transaction price could also increase the paper value of holdings, but it does not mean all employees participated, could sell all their shares, or realized a particular return. The reported offer was a way to address the limited liquidity common to private-company equity.
Why did investors value OpenAI so highly?
ChatGPT’s rapid adoption after its November 2022 launch helped make OpenAI central to expectations that generative AI could become a major consumer, enterprise, and developer platform. Investors could also see possible revenue across subscriptions, workplace products, and APIs, alongside a strategic relationship with Microsoft and access to cloud infrastructure.
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Those factors provide context, not a documented formula for the $86 billion figure. The offer reflected investor appetite for a scarce frontier-AI company, expectations about future products and revenue, and the costs of developing increasingly capable models. OpenAI’s later description of a business spanning consumer subscriptions, workplace offerings, APIs, and growing compute investment offers context for that business model, but does not prove which factors set the February 2024 price (OpenAI).
A high private valuation can help a company recruit, retain staff, and pursue later financing, while creating pressure to deliver growth and justify substantial infrastructure spending. It can also be revised downward in a future transaction. It should not be read as a measure of product accuracy, reliability, or investment risk.
How did the deal relate to the Altman crisis?
Sam Altman was removed as CEO by OpenAI’s board in November 2023 and returned after a period of employee and investor pressure, followed by changes to the board. Contemporary reporting said negotiations for the share sale had begun before that crisis. The transaction therefore should not be treated as a direct financial reward for Altman’s return or as a deal caused by the board dispute (Thurrott’s summary).
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What was Microsoft’s role?
At the time of the 2024 tender offer, Microsoft was OpenAI’s principal strategic backer and cloud partner. Contemporary coverage commonly described Microsoft as having invested more than $13 billion by that period, but the arrangement was not equivalent to straightforward control of a conventional company. OpenAI’s historical account described Microsoft’s investment and partnership while emphasizing the nonprofit’s governance role and mission constraints (Sam Altman’s Senate testimony).
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OpenAI was not a conventional venture-backed corporation: a nonprofit retained a governance role while a for-profit structure enabled capital raising. Later changes mean 2024-era descriptions of ownership or economic rights should not be carried forward as current terms. On October 28, 2025, OpenAI described a new public-benefit-corporation structure and said Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI Group PBC was valued at about $135 billion, or roughly 27% on an as-converted diluted basis (OpenAI’s announcement).
How the reported valuation fits the later timeline
| Date | Event | What the figure describes |
|---|---|---|
| April 2023 | Reported share sale | Approximately $27 billion–$29 billion valuation; Seedtable’s funding history. |
| February 2024 | Thrive Capital-led tender offer | More than $80 billion, with an approximately $86 billion implied valuation reported; a secondary share transaction. |
| October 2, 2024 | OpenAI announced new financing | $6.6 billion raised at a $157 billion post-money valuation; OpenAI announcement. |
| October 28, 2025 | OpenAI announced a revised corporate structure | Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI Group PBC described at approximately $135 billion in value and roughly 27% on an as-converted diluted basis; OpenAI announcement. |
| February 27, 2026 | OpenAI announced new investment | $110 billion at a $730 billion pre-money valuation; OpenAI announcement. |
The 2024 offer was described at the time as placing OpenAI among the world’s most valuable private companies. That ranking was time-specific; the later financing announcements show why the $80 billion-plus figure is a historical milestone, not a current valuation.
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