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CNBC reported on Wednesday, citing two people familiar with the subject, that OpenAI, the owner of ChatGPT, is enabling its employees to sell approximately $1.5 billion worth of shares in a new tender offer to Japan’s SoftBank Group.
At a valuation of $157 billion, Microsoft-backed OpenAI raised $6.6 billion in October from investors including SoftBank, according to the report. Earlier this year, the Japanese giant reportedly put $500 million into the artificial intelligence startup.
SoftBank’s billionaire CEO Masayoshi Son reportedly forced the fresh investment round because he wanted a bigger share in the company after investing in its previous round of funding, according to CNBC.
This week, the tender offer will close, allowing present and past workers of OpenAI to redeem their shares, as stated in the report. SoftBank and OpenAI both chose not to respond when asked about the claim by CNBC. They did not react quickly to a Reuters request for comment.
