OpenAI valuation history: every funding round and share sale, 2015-2026
As of October 2026, OpenAI's last confirmed valuation is $852 billion. That is the post-money figure set when the company closed a round with $122 billion in committed capital on March 31, 2026, up from $300 billion a year earlier and $157 billion in October 2024. Reports in late September 2026 said OpenAI was in early talks to raise money at about $1.4 trillion, but no deal had been announced.
The timeline below separates official figures, published by OpenAI or its investors, from numbers that come from press reports about private share sales. Valuations are post-money unless marked otherwise.
OpenAI valuation by year at a glance
- 2015: founded as a nonprofit with $1 billion in pledges; no valuation.
- 2019: capped-profit arm created and Microsoft invests $1 billion; no valuation disclosed.
- 2021: about $14 billion (reported).
- Early 2023: about $29 billion in an investor tender offer (reported).
- Early 2024: $80 billion or more, later put at $86 billion, in an employee tender offer (reported).
- October 2024: $157 billion after a $6.6 billion round (official).
- March 2025: $300 billion after a $40 billion round led by SoftBank (official).
- October 2025: $500 billion in an employee share sale (reported).
- February 2026: $730 billion pre-money as a $110 billion raise is announced (official).
- March 2026: $852 billion after the round closes at $122 billion (official).
- August 2026: $852 billion in an employee share sale of about $7 billion (reported).
- September 2026: about $1.4 trillion sought in early talks (reported, not confirmed).
The full timeline of OpenAI funding rounds and share sales
2015: a nonprofit with $1 billion in pledges
OpenAI launched on December 11, 2015 as a nonprofit research lab. Its backers, among them Elon Musk, Sam Altman and Reid Hoffman, committed $1 billion in total. These were pledges to a nonprofit, not share purchases, so there was no valuation.
2019: OpenAI LP and Microsoft's first $1 billion
On March 11, 2019, OpenAI created OpenAI LP, a "capped-profit" company controlled by the nonprofit. Investors could now buy equity, but first-round returns were capped at 100 times the amount invested.
On July 22, 2019, Microsoft announced a $1 billion investment together with an exclusive Azure computing partnership. Neither company disclosed a valuation.
2021 to 2023: Microsoft's second and third phases
Microsoft invested again in 2021 without publishing the amount. Reuters has put OpenAI's valuation that year at $14 billion.
On January 23, 2023, less than two months after ChatGPT's release, Microsoft announced a "multiyear, multibillion dollar investment" and called it the third phase of the partnership, following its 2019 and 2021 deals. Microsoft declined to give terms; some outlets had reported a figure of $10 billion. Microsoft's annual report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2026 puts its total funding commitments to OpenAI at $13 billion, of which $11.9 billion had been funded by that date.
Around the same time, Thrive Capital, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and K2 Global agreed to buy existing shares in a tender offer that valued OpenAI at about $29 billion, according to the New York Times, as relayed by Reuters.
2024: an $86 billion tender and a $157 billion round
In February 2024 OpenAI completed a tender offer led by Thrive Capital that let employees cash out shares. The New York Times put the valuation at $80 billion or more, and Reuters later reported the price as $86 billion. No new money went to the company.
On October 2, 2024, OpenAI announced $6.6 billion in new funding at a $157 billion post-money valuation. According to Reuters, Thrive Capital committed about $1.2 billion, and Khosla Ventures, Microsoft, Nvidia, Altimeter, Fidelity, SoftBank and MGX also took part.
The money came as convertible notes. They would turn into equity only if OpenAI restructured its for-profit arm, and investors could claw back their capital or renegotiate the valuation if that did not happen within two years, Reuters reported.
In late November 2024, OpenAI let employees sell about $1.5 billion of shares to SoftBank in another tender offer, at a price in line with the October round.
2025: SoftBank's $40 billion round and a $500 billion share sale
On March 31, 2025, OpenAI announced $40 billion at a $300 billion post-money valuation, with SoftBank Group as its main partner. SoftBank's announcement gave a pre-money valuation of $260 billion and split the money into two closings: $10 billion in April 2025 and up to $30 billion in December 2025.
The second closing depended on OpenAI completing a recapitalization by the end of 2025, or in certain cases early 2026. If that failed, it would shrink to $10 billion. The recapitalization went through in October, and SoftBank said it completed a further $22.5 billion investment on December 26, 2025. That brought its own contribution to $30 billion and its stake to about 11%. Co-investors added $11 billion, so the round totalled $41 billion.
On October 2, 2025, Reuters reported that current and former employees had sold about $6.6 billion of shares at a $500 billion valuation. Buyers included Thrive Capital, SoftBank, Dragoneer, MGX and T. Rowe Price, and the company had authorized more than $10 billion in sales.
October 2025: recapitalization into OpenAI Group PBC
On October 28, 2025, OpenAI completed its recapitalization after almost a year of talks with the attorneys general of California and Delaware. The for-profit arm became a public benefit corporation, OpenAI Group PBC, controlled by the nonprofit, now called the OpenAI Foundation. The foundation's stake was valued at about $130 billion.
Microsoft said its holding was roughly 27% on an as-converted diluted basis, worth about $135 billion, compared with 32.5% before recent funding. That pairing implies a company value of roughly $500 billion, in line with the October share sale. Later funding diluted the stake further: Microsoft's annual report put it at about 25% as of June 30, 2026. More OpenAI coverage is in our AI Business section.
2026: $122 billion at $852 billion
On February 27, 2026, OpenAI announced $110 billion in new investment at a $730 billion pre-money valuation: $50 billion from Amazon, $30 billion from Nvidia and $30 billion from SoftBank, with more financial investors expected to join. OpenAI said the new price lifted the OpenAI Foundation's stake to more than $180 billion.
The round closed on March 31, 2026 with $122 billion in committed capital at an $852 billion post-money valuation, which equals the $730 billion pre-money price plus the $122 billion raised. Amazon, Nvidia and SoftBank anchored the round. SoftBank co-led it with a16z, D. E. Shaw Ventures, MGX, TPG and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price, and Microsoft continued to take part.
For the first time, OpenAI also raised more than $3 billion from individuals through bank channels. Separately, it expanded its undrawn revolving credit facility, which is debt rather than equity, to about $4.7 billion.
On August 10, 2026, CNBC confirmed that OpenAI had completed a secondary sale of about $7 billion, letting current and former employees sell stock at the $852 billion valuation. CNBC also reported that OpenAI had confidentially filed an IPO prospectus with the SEC in June 2026 without disclosing a timeline.
What comes next: a reported $1.4 trillion round and the IPO question
On September 29, 2026, Bloomberg reported, and Reuters relayed, that OpenAI aimed to raise at least $30 billion at a valuation of about $1.4 trillion, not counting the new money. The talks were described as early, with terms that could change, and the money as a bridge round ahead of an eventual IPO. Two weeks earlier, the Financial Times, Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal had reported talks at a valuation above $1.2 trillion.
In a Fortune interview published on September 12, 2026, Sam Altman said OpenAI would not go public in 2026, citing AI safety concerns. No listing date has been announced as of October 2026. Until a new deal closes, $852 billion remains the last valuation backed by a completed transaction.
How to read OpenAI's valuation numbers
- Pre-money vs post-money. Pre-money is the value before new cash arrives; post-money adds the new cash. In 2026, $730 billion pre-money plus $122 billion raised gives $852 billion post-money.
- Primary rounds vs tender offers. In a primary round, OpenAI issues new shares and receives the money. In a tender offer or secondary sale, employees and early holders sell existing shares, so the company receives nothing, but the price still sets a marker.
- Committed vs paid-in capital. Large rounds are often paid in stages: SoftBank's 2025 money arrived in two closings, and the 2026 total is described as committed capital.
- Official vs reported. OpenAI and its investors published the 2024, 2025 and 2026 round figures. The 2021 valuation, the tender prices and the reported 2026 talks come from press reports citing people familiar with the deals.
For context on how newer frontier labs raise money, see our explainer on AI neolabs, and follow new deals in our Funding section. This page tracks published and reported valuations and is not investment advice.
Frequently asked questions
What is OpenAI's valuation right now?
As of October 2026, the last confirmed valuation is $852 billion post-money, set by the round that closed on March 31, 2026 and used again in an August 2026 employee share sale. Reported talks at about $1.4 trillion had not produced an announced deal.
How much has Microsoft invested in OpenAI?
Microsoft invested $1 billion in 2019, an undisclosed sum in 2021 and a multibillion-dollar amount in 2023, and it also took part in the 2024 and 2026 rounds. Its annual report puts total funding commitments at $13 billion, $11.9 billion of it funded by June 30, 2026. Its stake was about 27% right after the October 2025 recapitalization and about 25% on an as-converted basis by June 30, 2026.
What was OpenAI worth in 2023?
An early-2023 tender offer to Thrive Capital, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and K2 Global valued OpenAI at about $29 billion, according to the New York Times.
Why did OpenAI announce $730 billion and then $852 billion?
The $730 billion figure from February 2026 was a pre-money valuation, measured before the new cash. When the round closed in March with $122 billion committed, the post-money valuation became $852 billion.
Is OpenAI a public company?
No. As of October 2026 OpenAI shares do not trade on any stock exchange; CNBC reported a confidential IPO filing in June 2026, and Sam Altman said in September that the company would not list in 2026.