OpenAI creates new millionaires ahead of its IPO: $6.6 billion cashed out by employees of the AI company

Historic pre-IPO liquidity event for OpenAI: over 600 employees and former staff members of the company took part in October 2025 in a major sale of company shares, collectively cashing out around $6.6 billion.

Specifically, around 75 people are said to have reached the maximum allowed sale limit, set at $30 million per individual after the company decided to triple the initially planned cap.

This operation not only affects the artificial intelligence market, but also changes all the internal economic dynamics of Silicon Valley.

Between stock options, record salaries and anticipated IPOs, the AI boom is changing the face of Silicon Valley

The reason behind OpenAI’s decision is that investor demand to enter its capital would have become enormous.

The company, now considered the global symbol of the generative AI revolution, has in fact become one of the most coveted private assets in the entire tech sector.

Therefore, for many employees this was the first real opportunity to monetize their stock options.

Moreover, those who joined OpenAI years before the explosion of ChatGPT would have seen the value of their shares increase more than a hundredfold compared to the initial valuations.

These figures show how quickly artificial intelligence has transformed the tech market.

During the dot-com bubble of the 1990s, many employees of tech startups had to wait for the IPO to sell their shares and often were not even able to cash in their gains before market crashes.

Today, however, major AI companies are creating billions in liquidity even before going public.

OpenAI’s operation also reflects a deeper transformation in how private startups manage capital. 

Tender offers, that is, purchase offers for shares reserved for employees and private investors, are becoming increasingly common tools to allow workers to monetize part of the wealth they have accumulated without waiting for a public listing.

The war for AI talent is making salaries and valuations explode

The most striking aspect of this story concerns the speed at which the AI sector is creating new wealth. 

Companies are fighting a real war to secure researchers, engineers and developers capable of working on advanced AI models. In this scenario, pay levels are reaching unprecedented heights even by Silicon Valley standards.

OpenAI is said to have posted offers for technical roles with base salaries above $500,000 per year, while Meta is reportedly offering compensation packages that in some cases come close to hundreds of millions of dollars to attract the best AI researchers.

This phenomenon is completely redefining the tech job market. It is no longer just about innovative startups looking for developers, but about companies competing to control the future infrastructure of global artificial intelligence.

At the same time, the value of the companies involved also continues to grow rapidly, as does the attention on possible future IPOs. 

Financial observers believe that both OpenAI and Anthropic could reach the public markets in the coming years, opening a new phase of monetization for thousands of employees and investors.

Beyond the enthusiasm, however, some critical questions are also beginning to emerge. For example, people are wondering whether current valuations truly reflect the economic potential of AI or whether they are merely fueling a new form of speculative tech bubble.

The speed with which capital is concentrating around a few AI companies is reminiscent in some respects of the dynamics already seen during other major phases of technological euphoria.

The main difference is that today artificial intelligence appears much more concrete from an industrial standpoint. Companies are already generating enormous revenues thanks to automation tools, assisted coding and enterprise AI services.

However, maintaining these levels of growth will require gigantic infrastructure investments and demand that continues to expand without slowing down.

The OpenAI effect is changing Silicon Valley

In any case, it is important to note how the wealth generated by artificial intelligence is already producing very visible consequences on the real economy.

Several reports link the increase in salaries and assets in the AI sector to the surge in real estate costs in San Francisco and in California’s tech areas.

The effect is similar to what was seen during previous major technological revolutions, but with a much more extreme speed. In just a few years, AI has created a new economic elite composed of researchers, engineers and early employees of the leading companies in the sector.

Not only that, the OpenAI case is emblematic for another reason as well: it shows how technological power is becoming increasingly concentrated. 

Meanwhile, tensions around the company’s governance also continue. During recent court proceedings, OpenAI president Greg Brockman is said to have declared that his equity stake is worth around $30 billion.

CEO Sam Altman, on the other hand, claims not to directly own shares in the company.

However, this situation could change depending on how the legal dispute with Elon Musk over the transformation of OpenAI from a non-profit organization into a for-profit structure evolves.