OpenAI LP, the company behind the highly popular generative artificial intelligence service ChatGPT, is reportedly talking to investors about a share sale that would value it at between $80 billion and $90 billion, roughly triple its valuation as of earlier this year.

The Wall Street Journal reported today that the deal is expected to allow employees to sell their existing shares as opposed to the company issuing new shares to raise additional capital. People familiar with the discussions claim that OpenAI has begun pitching investors on the deal, telling them that it expects to reach $1 billion in revenue this year and many billions more in 2024.

The $1 billion figure is in line with a report in August that also quotes company insiders. It was reported at the time that OpenAI was generating $80 million in revenue a month, up from $28 million for the entirety of 2022. The revenue boost was driven by the launch of ChatGPT Plus — the $20 per month premium version of ChatGPT that launched in February.

The Journal report claims that OpenAI is aiming to sell a few hundred million dollars worth of existing shares to Silicon Valley investors. Previous investors through tender offers for shares have included Sequoia Capital Global Advisors LLC and Khosla Ventures LLC. The new offer is said to have intense interest, including notably from tech company investing giant SoftBank Group Corp.

Despite reports going as far as back as May that OpenAI was looking to raise more funding, the sale of shares, should it go ahead, would not provide additional operating funds to OpenAI, only allowing its employees to divest some of their shares.

Share sales, such as the one proposed by OpenAI, are used to allow employees to gain access to the value of their equity without having to wait until the company goes public. Allowing employees to sell shares can help companies attract top talent and generate liquidity.

If OpenAI does go ahead and allow employees to sell their stock, the other advantage will be a new valuation and the reported valuation for OpenAI is a significant boost, given that the company was valued at around $30 billion when it raised $10 billion from Microsoft Corp. in January. On paper, a $90 billion valuation would mean that Microsoft’s investment is now worth approximately $30 billion — a nice return for a nine-month-old investment.

The news that OpenAI is exploring an employee share sale comes a day after the company announced that ChatGPT now allows users to use voice and pictures to get answers.

Image: OpenAI