Investors are placing a valuation of over $100 billion on OpenAI in the secondary market

OpenAI is reportedly in discussions to secure a new round of funding, potentially valuing the company at over $100 billion, sources revealed to The Wall Street Journal. Investors are already demonstrating their willingness to place such a high valuation on OpenAI to gain a spot on its sought-after cap table. Several firms that monitor or facilitate secondary market deals—where shares are bought from existing investors rather than directly from the company—have observed transactions that suggest OpenAI’s valuation exceeds $100 billion.

The primary funding round OpenAI is currently negotiating is expected to be led by Josh Kushner’s Thrive Capital, which may contribute $1 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. Microsoft, Nvidia, and Apple are also rumored to be potential investors. This would represent a significant leap for the AI powerhouse, which was most recently valued at $86 billion in a secondary sale of existing stakes in September, according to Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, securities trader Rainmaker Securities reports that some investors are bidding on OpenAI stock at prices valuing the company as high as $143 billion. Caplight, a platform that tracks secondary market data, estimates OpenAI’s current valuation at over $111 billion, based on both secondary market activity and previous traditional funding rounds.

Greg Martin, another co-founder and managing director at Rainmaker Securities, noted that while OpenAI’s valuation has surged rapidly, so too has its revenue. Despite reportedly burning through a significant amount of cash, the company has seen its revenue soar from zero just a few years ago to billions today. According to The Information, OpenAI is on track to achieve $2 billion in annual recurring revenue (ARR) by the end of the year.

“Determining the exact valuation of OpenAI is challenging, but demand is clearly high,” Martin said. “There’s a fear of missing out on the premium that OpenAI commands, and some argue that the company could eventually be worth a trillion dollars.”

Although OpenAI’s next official valuation is still pending, one thing is certain: this funding round will likely fuel more secondary market activity surrounding OpenAI and its AI rivals, Martin predicted. He also expects it to boost valuations for other companies in the sector, including Anthropic, Cohere, and Hugging Face.