OpenAI Becomes World’s Most Valuable Startup

FOMO is a powerful thing. The fear of missing out on the meteoric rise of artificial intelligence has persuaded investors to largely dismiss concerns about a bubble developing in the sector, analysts are warning.

Case in point: OpenAI overtook SpaceX to become the world’s largest startup after the ChatGPT owner completed a deal to help employees sell shares in the company at a $500 billion valuation. Current and former OpenAI employees were able to sell about $6.6 billion of stock to a range of investors, a person familiar with the transaction said. The deal vaults OpenAI past SpaceX’s $400 billion valuation and coincides with a pivotal time for Sam Altman’s company, which is in negotiations with Microsoft to convert into a more traditional for-profit company.