Open AI is the artificial intelligence startup behind the massively popular ChatGPT, which single-handedly brought AI to the forefront of tech investing. In a funding round raised by OpenAI in March 2025, the company’s post-money valuation was $300 billion.
Key takeaways about OpenAI’s valuation:
- OpenAI is the AI startup behind the massively popular AI chatbot called ChatGPT
- In March 2025, OpenAI raised a $40 billion funding round at a $300 billion post-money valuation.
- According to publicly available information, OpenAI has raised $57.9 billion across 10 funding rounds between 2016 and 2025
- The largest shareholder of OpenAI is software giant Microsoft, which reportedly owned a 49% stake in the company as of 2024
What is the value of OpenAI?
In its most recent funding round (March 2025), OpenAI was valued at a whopping $300 billion. So far, OpenAI has raised $57.9 billion from a variety of investors, ranging from individuals such as Elon Musk, tech giants like Microsoft (MSFT), and investment powerhouse SoftBank.
Here’s an overview of OpenAI’s notable past funding rounds, according to data from Crunchbase.
| Date | Type | Money Raised | Lead Investor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 31, 2025 | Series F | $40 billion | SoftBank |
| Oct 7, 2024 | Conventional Debt | $40 billion | / |
| Oct 2, 2024 | Series E | $6.6 billion | Thrive Capital |
| Apr 28, 2023 | Venture Round | $300 million | / |
| Jan 23, 2023 | Corporate Round | $10 billion | Microsoft |
| Jan 1, 2022 | Secondary Market | / | / |
| Jan 1, 2021 | Secondary Market | / | / |
| Jul 23, 2019 | Corporate Round | $1 billion | Microsoft |
| Mar 11, 2019 | Seed Round | / | Atlas Benjelloun, Khosla Ventures |
| Aug 22, 2016 | Pre Seed Round | $120,000 | / |
Source: Crunchbase
Who is the largest investor in OpenAI?
The largest investor in OpenAI is Microsoft, which reportedly owns 49% of the company. As of October 2023, Microsoft has invested $11 billion in OpenAI through two funding rounds in 2019 and 2023. Due to its exposure to the AI startup, Microsoft is the best stock to buy for exposure to ChatGPT and its parent company, OpenAI.
Japan-based investment holding company SoftBank is also a major investor in OpenAI, contributing $30 billion to OpenAI’s funding round in March 2025, which raised $40 billion in total.
It is worth noting that OpenAI was founded in 2016 as a non-profit organization by Sam Altman (the current CEO of OpenAI), Greg Brockman, Reid Hoffman, Jessica Livingston, and Peter Thiel. The group included Elon Musk as well, but he later left the company due to a potential conflict of interest because of his involvement with Tesla’s AI development.
After parting with OpenAI, Musk criticized Open AI for its decision to distance itself from the open-source beginnings and continuous efforts to make the company highly profitable. As a response, Musk founded X.AI Corp (“xAI”), an AI startup that focuses on understanding “the true nature of the universe.”
Who owns OpenAI stock?
OpenAI is a private company, which means that its ownership structure is not publicly known. However, according to reports, Microsoft is the largest owner of OpenAI shares, controlling 49% of the company. The other 49% of the company is controlled by various stakeholders who invested in the company throughout the years, with one of the largest investors being SoftBank. It is worth mentioning that 2% of the company is owned by the OpenAI non-profit foundation.
With an estimated valuation of $90 billion, OpenAI is one of the largest privately held tech companies in the world, behind TikTok creator ByteDance and spacecraft manufacturer SpaceX.
The bottom line
With a valuation of $300 billion and a multi-billion dollar annual revenue expected for 2025, OpenAI is quickly cementing itself as the leading AI company in the world. Most of its success is owed to the extreme popularity of ChatGPT, which is used by both regular users and enterprises alike.
It is worth noting that OpenAI’s success is largely predicated on the broader tech sector, including GPU manufacturing giant Nvidia and software behemoth Microsoft. If you want to gain exposure to the AI sector and the broader tech industry, check out our list of the best AI stocks to buy. For additional portfolio diversification, you can consider investing in the best AI stocks under $10.