OpenAI opens the door to individual investors
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OpenAI is beginning to let individual investors access its stock, months before the ChatGPT maker is expected to launch its IPO.
Driving the news: OpenAI said Tuesday that its shares will soon be included in several exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offered by ARK Invest, the Cathie Wood-led firm that previously invested via its venture capital arm.
- It also sold around $3 billion of shares to individual investors in a recent private placement with clients of three "very large banks."
What they're saying: "We are really trying to take to heart our mission, which is AGI for the benefit of humanity and thinking about access," OpenAI chief financial officer Sarah Friar tells Axios.
- "Not just access to the technology, but also access to the economic upside that it's driving."
By the numbers: The $3 billion was part of a new funding round that now totals $122 billion at an $852 billion post-money valuation.
- This includes an earlier $110 billion commitment from Amazon, Nvidia and SoftBank — a portion of which is being wired this week.
- Amazon's remaining $35 billion commitment is conditioned on OpenAI meeting certain conditions, such as an IPO before the end of 2028.
- Nvidia and SoftBank are each committed to a pair of additional $10 billion tranches, hitting on July 1 and Oct. 1.
Zoom in: OpenAI also added a slew of new institutional investors who filled out the round's remaining $7 billion.
- These included a16z, D. E. Shaw Ventures, MGX, TPG and T. Rowe Price — plus longtime backer Microsoft.
- Others were: Altimeter, Appaloosa, ARK Invest, BlackRock, Blackstone, Coatue, D1 Capital Partners, Dragoneer, Fidelity, Goanna Capital, Insight Partners, The Paragon Group, Sands Capital, Sequoia Capital, Sound Ventures, Temasek, Thrive Capital, UC Investments and Winslow Capital.
What to watch: OpenAI's expansion in the enterprise, where Anthropic is viewed as the market leader.
- Friar says that over 40% of OpenAI's revenue now comes from enterprise clients and that she expects that figure to hit 50% by year-end.
(Disclosure: Axios and OpenAI have a licensing and technology agreement that allows OpenAI to access part of Axios' story archives while helping fund the launch of Axios into several local cities and providing some AI tools. Axios has editorial independence.)
