OpenAI Skips Outside Buyers for $7 Billion Tender as IPO Preparation Ramps Up

OpenAI used its own cash, not outside investors, to buy back roughly $7 billion in employee shares, according to Bloomberg.

The deal holds the company's valuation flat at $852 billion ahead of a possible stock market listing.

OpenAI Breaks From Its Own Pattern

A tender offer lets a company or investor buy back existing shares from employees. OpenAI has run investor-funded versions before, including a 2023 tender offer that tripled its valuation to $86 billion.

Its largest prior deal came in October 2025. Thrive Capital, SoftBank, and others bought $6.6 billion in employee shares, valuing OpenAI near $500 billion.

By March 2026, a $122 billion funding round pushed that valuation to $852 billion. OpenAI confirmed the same $852 billion figure now, months after it also filed a confidential IPO filing with regulators.

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