OpenAI Completes $7 Billion Employee Share Buyback Ahead of IPO

OpenAI has recently completed a $7 billion tender offer to buy back employee shares, utilizing its own cash reserves rather than seeking outside investors. This move keeps the company's valuation steady at $852 billion as it gears up for a possible stock market listing.

According to Bloomberg, this self-funded buyback marks a departure from OpenAI's previous practices, which involved investor-funded buybacks. In 2023, a similar tender offer helped triple the company's valuation to $86 billion, while a larger deal in October 2025 saw Thrive Capital and SoftBank purchase $6.6 billion in employee shares, valuing OpenAI at around $500 billion.

By opting for a self-funded approach, OpenAI aims to maintain a clean cap table free from new outside investors ahead of its anticipated IPO. This strategy signals that the company has sufficient cash on hand following a substantial funding round in March 2026, which raised its valuation to the current $852 billion.

In contrast, Anthropic, another AI competitor, is reportedly targeting an IPO as early as October 2026, following a significant $65 billion financing round that valued it at $965 billion. The competition between these two firms is intensifying, particularly as OpenAI has been reducing prices for its services amid rising infrastructure costs.

CEO Sam Altman has indicated that OpenAI expects to go public within the next year, although some reports suggest a potential delay into 2027. The recent buyback allows OpenAI to keep its IPO timeline flexible without the pressure of new investors.