Current and former employees of OpenAI, the company that created the popular chatbot ChatGPT, are planning a large-scale sale of their shares to third-party investors in the amount of about 6 billion US dollars. About this informs Reuters with reference to sources familiar with the negotiations.
It is noted that if the deal is implemented, the company’s market valuation could rise to $500 billion, while it is currently valued at about $300 billion. The Japanese telecommunications giant SoftBank Group and the American venture capital company Thrive Capital are potential buyers of the shares.
According to Bloomberg News, negotiations are still in the early stages, so the final size of the deal could be revised. However, attracting new investment is expected to significantly strengthen SoftBank’s role in OpenAI’s funding structure. It will be recalled that earlier the Japanese investor had already participated in the initial round of financing of the company, which was estimated at 40 billion dollars.
In recent years, SoftBank Group has been consistently betting on the development of artificial intelligence and is one of the key players in the field of financing AI startups.
OpenAI’s financials are also showing sharp growth. Thanks to its main product, ChatGPT, the company was able to double its revenue in just the first seven months of the year. Currently, the annual revenue figure is about 12 billion dollars. According to forecasts, OpenAI can reach the level of 20 billion dollars by the end of the year.
Against the background of this news, the shares of SoftBank Group rose sharply – quotations rose by 8%. Experts attribute the jump to expectations that the Japanese tech investor will be able to make the most of its years-long focus on artificial intelligence and strengthen its presence in the strategically important area.
