OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has surpassed Elon Musk’s technology firm, achieving a $500 billion valuation subsequent to a recent share transaction.
OpenAI is now recognized as the globe’s most valuable startup, having surpassed Elon Musk’s SpaceX, as per a Bloomberg report issued Thursday. This significant achievement follows a secondary sale where current and former OpenAI personnel divested approximately $6.6 billion in shares to investors.
Earlier in the year, the creator of ChatGPT was estimated to be worth roughly $300 billion, while SpaceX stood at $400 billion. Nevertheless, the recent transaction has elevated the company’s valuation beyond $500 billion, as disclosed by an individual knowledgeable about the agreement.
This increase in valuation coincides with ongoing discussions between OpenAI and Microsoft regarding a potential restructuring into a more conventional for-profit organization.
Microsoft has acted as a primary partner and significant financial supporter for OpenAI, channeling billions into the enterprise while concurrently enhancing its own AI infrastructure. Last month, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella voiced apprehension that rapid AI advancements might render Microsoft’s foundational businesses outdated, especially given the company’s reduction of over 15,000 jobs this year within a wider reorganization effort.
Established in 2015, OpenAI began as a nonprofit research laboratory with the explicit aim of developing AI “to benefit humanity as a whole.”
The organization gained considerable recognition following the 2022 introduction of ChatGPT, which swiftly garnered millions of users. Since then, it has launched a succession of progressively sophisticated models, notably GPT-5 in August 2025, concurrently securing major infrastructure deals with collaborators like Oracle and SK Hynix.
Musk co-founded the company but resigned from its board in 2018. He has subsequently alleged that OpenAI has deviated from its initial nonprofit objective after accepting billions in funding from Microsoft.
Last year, he initiated legal action to prevent modifications to the company’s framework; however, a judge rejected his plea for an injunction, and the litigation continues. Concurrently, Musk’s AI enterprise, xAI, has similarly filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, citing alleged trade secret infringement, an accusation that the developer of ChatGPT has forcefully refuted.