Hundreds of OpenAI staff cash out to become millionaires overnight
Hundreds of OpenAI staff cash out to become millionaires overnight
Matthew FieldMon, May 11, 2026 at 11:38 AM UTC
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The growing value of Sam Altman’s OpenAI has made hundreds of its staff millionaires - Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
Hundreds of OpenAI staff have become overnight millionaires after cashing out a total of $6.6bn (£4.8bn) in shares.
As many as 600 workers at the ChatGPT developer sold shares as part of a deal last year that allowed investors to buy stock held by early staff members.
Up to 75 staff sold the maximum number of shares allowed under the deal, according to the Wall Street Journal, walking away with $30m each. It meant staff payouts averaged about $11m.
The share sales highlight the substantial wealth being created through the AI boom, though the spoils are falling to a narrow group of people.
OpenAI, led by its co-founder, Sam Altman, requires staff to wait two years until they can cash out their shares, meaning last year’s deal was one of the first since it launched ChatGPT in November 2022. The product became a worldwide phenomenon and set off the ongoing boom in AI investment.
Early employees at OpenAI have seen the value of their stock soar. The company was valued at about $1bn in 2019 when it set up a profit-making subsidiary. It was then valued at $29bn in 2023 after securing the backing of Microsoft, shortly after the launch of ChatGPT.
The private share sales in October valued OpenAI at $500bn. Since then, the AI lab’s valuation has climbed to $852bn after it raised a further $122bn from investors in March.
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OpenAI is now targeting an initial public offering, expected in early 2027, that could value the business at more than $1tn and make many of its early employees multimillionaires.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which includes his xAI lab, and Anthropic, the developer of Claude, are also seeking to make their public market debuts at valuations north of $1tn.
Employees at OpenAI were able to cash out even as fears of an AI bubble peaked last year. Technology stocks suffered a sharp sell-off between September and October amid concerns about circular deals and excessive spending by AI labs.
Share sales are not the only way tech staff are profiting. The AI boom has prompted a war for talent that has seen programmers and researchers handed life-changing compensation packages. Meta, the owner of Facebook, reportedly offered pay deals worth more than $300m to attract leading researchers.
For the past fortnight, OpenAI has been locked in a courtroom battle with Mr Musk regarding the ChatGPT maker’s decision to shift from a charitable organisation to one that makes a profit. OpenAI argues the lawsuit is motivated by jealousy.
As part of the case, Greg Brockman, OpenAI’s president, testified he held stock in the business worth about $30bn.
OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment.
Source: “AOL Money”
