OpenAI plans employee tender offer at $730 billion pre-money valuation

OpenAI’s confidential IPO filing comes as audited 2025 figures show steep spending, rapid revenue growth and a reported loss inflated by a large non-cash accounting charge tied to its old legal structure.

Summary

OpenAI has confidentially filed IPO documents with the US Securities and Exchange Commission while preparing a new employee tender offer at a $730 billion pre-money valuation. Audited 2025 figures cited in the new report show the ChatGPT owner spent $34 billion, generated about $13 billion in revenue and recorded a reported $39 billion loss, with much of that loss tied to a roughly $30 billion non-cash accounting expense linked to its former legal structure. By December 2025, monthly revenue had reached around $2 billion, up from about $1 billion per quarter at the end of 2024. The company has been directing resources toward ChatGPT and business AI products while cutting some side projects, even as legal disputes, safety-related lawsuits and competition with Anthropic add pressure ahead of any public listing. The Information previously estimated that OpenAI and Anthropic together enabled about $14 billion in liquidity for employees and early investors over the past five years, underscoring the heavy capital demands and potential volatility surrounding leading AI companies as they move closer to public markets.

Terms & Concepts
  • employee tender offer: A company-run program that allows employees to sell shares while the company remains private.
  • pre-money valuation: A company’s estimated value before any new investment is added.
  • convertible interests: Investor holdings that were treated as debt liabilities under OpenAI’s former structure and had to be revalued as its valuation rose.