According to media reports on Thursday (November 30th), multiple insiders revealed that OpenAI, a US artificial intelligence research startup, is still adhering to its stock sale plan.
They stated that OpenAI has extended the deadline for allowing employees to sell their company stocks by one month until January 5, 2024, with the previous deadline being early December. This means that the company gives potential investors an additional month of decision-making time.
A person familiar with the matter explained that OpenAI's move was due to the company's previous "personnel earthquake" that led to investors withdrawing from the acquisition offer. But after Sam Altman returned as CEO, it was believed internally that the need for a rebound could potentially fill the previously lost deals.
In October of this year, it was reported that OpenAI had been negotiating a sale of shares, which was expected to bring the company's valuation to $86 billion. For external investors, this matter is also of great significance, as it will be the simplest and most direct way to buy shares in this star AI company.
Earlier this month, the OpenAI board of directors dismissed Ultraman from his CEO position without warning, sparking heated discussions in the industry. It is evident during this period that if key employees such as Ultraman are lost, the company's corporate value will inevitably decrease significantly. Fortunately, Ultraman eventually regained control of OpenAI.
Earlier this year, OpenAI completed a $10.3 billion financing, with a valuation of $29 billion at the time. According to the unicorn ranking released by market research firm CB Insights this month, OpenAI ranks tenth with a valuation of $29 billion.
However, at a valuation of $86 billion, OpenAI will be able to rank in the top three of the Unicorn list, just behind ByteDance ($225 billion) and SpaceX ($150 billion).
It is worth mentioning that Thursday (November 30th) happens to be the "one-year anniversary" of the chatbot ChatGPT. This means that the explosive expansion process of OpenAI valuation only took a short 365 days.