OpenAI Opens Its $852B Cap Table to Retail Investors Ahead of Expected IPO

OpenAI is cracking open the exclusive club for the common folk. The ChatGPT creator is giving individual investors access to its stock ahead of a potential IPO — a rare early entry into one of tech’s hottest names. Coming in hot at a $852B valuation, the company has also lined up a deal to include shares in ARK Invest ETFs led by Cathie Wood.

• The valuation follows the close of a $122B funding round, with about $3B of that allocated to retail investors through three major banks.
• Enterprise clients now generate over 40% of OpenAI’s revenue, with CFO Sarah Friar expecting that to reach 50% by year-end as competition with Anthropic intensifies.

The hype clock’s ticking: While the round drew heavyweight backing from AmazonAMZN

, NvidiaNVDA

, and SoftBankSFTBY

among others, OpenAI’s IPO is far from guaranteed. Amazon’s remaining commitment is conditional, including a requirement for a public listing by 2028. And although Nvidia and SoftBank are set to deploy another $10B in July and October, OpenAI may not be able to coast on potential alone.