(MENAFN) OpenAI has completed a landmark $6.6 billion secondary share sale, allowing current and former employees to sell stock amid a record-breaking $500 billion company valuation, media reported Thursday, citing an individual with direct knowledge of the matter.

The secondary sale, initiated in August, attracted heavyweight investors including Thrive Capital, SoftBank, Dragoneer Investment Group, Abu Dhabi's MGX, and T. Rowe Price, all backing OpenAI at its $500 billion valuation.

Despite OpenAI initially approving $10.3 billion worth of shares for sale, only about two-thirds changed hands, surpassing the company’s original $6 billion target. The insider noted that “lesser participation is being seen internally as a vote of confidence in the company's long-term prospects and an indication that investor demand is still robust,” even at the elevated $500 billion valuation, up sharply from $300 billion earlier this year.

In September, the offer extended to qualified current and former employees, with eligibility granted to those holding shares for more than two years.

This latest transaction marks OpenAI's second major tender offer within a year, following a $1.5 billion deal with SoftBank in November.

With this round, OpenAI has overtaken SpaceX’s $456 billion valuation, claiming the title of the most valuable privately held company worldwide.

The move comes amid an intensifying war for AI talent, where firms like Meta reportedly offer nine-figure compensation packages to secure leading researchers.

OpenAI joins a growing cohort of high-profile startups—such as SpaceX, Stripe, and Databricks—that utilize secondary sales to provide liquidity to employees while maintaining company privacy.

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