OpenAI remains one of the most revolutionary companies in the field of artificial intelligence. The project has grown from a non-profit into a corporation valued in the billions. Its game-changing protocols, like ChatGPT, opened the door to a new era in AI adoption, and the company has shown no signs of slowing.
All of this momentum and accomplishments have made OpenAI a highly coveted stock. However, the company remains privately owned, meaning that you will need to complete additional steps in order to gain access to its shares. Here’s how to navigate the secondary market and secure OpenAI Pre-IPO shares.
What is OpenAI and Why Does it Matter?
OpenAI seemed destined for success since day one. The San Francisco-based project originated as a non-profit in 2015. It was backed by some of the most influential names in tech. Specifically, Greg Brockman, Pamela Vagata, Durk Kingma, Vicki Cheung, John Schulman, Sam Altman, Andrej Karpathy, Wojciech Zaremba, Ilya Sutskever, and Trevor Blackwell got together intending to create more transparent and ethical AI options.
Originally, the company focused on deep learning and reinforcement learning AI models, leading to the release of OpenAI Gym in 2016. Two years later, Elon Musk resigned from the board, citing potential conflicts of interest with his Tesla AI projects. This maneuver didn’t slow the company’s innovative spirit, and shortly after the news, it released its Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPT) models.
How OpenAI’s Large Language Models Revolutionized AI
These Large Language Models allowed users to communicate more freely with AI systems. Recognizing this potential, the company shifted from a nonprofit to a capped-profit corporation. This maneuver enabled the firm to attract institutional investors, which was needed to expand on the GPT model.
Source – OpenAI
How ChatGPT Made OpenAI a Household Name
In 2020, ChatGPT became the fastest-growing app of all time. Its easy-to-use chat interface and the free services made the AI model an instant hit. That same year, the company introduced an API, enabling developers to integrate and build on ChatGPT services.
Since that time, OpenAI has remained a pioneering force in the AI sector. The company released CODEX in 2021, which focuses on AI-assisted coding. The same year, it launched DALL-E, an AI generative image model that allows users to create images simply based on text input.
OpenAI’s latest product, ChatGPT-4 entered service in March 2023 and remains one of the most popular AI multimodal options available. Today, OpenAI remains committed to its goal to drive innovation, collaboration, and democratize AI services.
Historical Funding Rounds
Summary of OpenAI Funding:
Total Funding: OpenAI secured $57.9B over 11 rounds
Largest Round: OpenAI’s largest funding round secured $40B on Mar 31, 2025
Investors: A total of 48 institutional investors and 3 Angel investors back OpenAI
Latest Round: The latest funding round raised $40B and was a Series F round held on Mar 31, 2025
OpenAI Funding Rounds Breakdown:
- 1 Seed
- 8 Late-Stage
- 1 Debt
- 1 Grant
OpenAI Key Investors:
OpenAI has strong investor support from Wells Fargo, UBS, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Santander, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, HSBC, Goldman Sachs, Citi, Softbank Group, Microsoft, Coatue, Thrive Capital, Altimeter Capital, MGX, CoreNest, Flat Capital, Tiger Global Management, Sequoia Capital, a16z, Thrive Capital, K2 Global, Founders Fund and more.
Why Consider Investing in OpenAI Pre-IPO?
There is a long list of benefits that make investing in OpenAI a smart move for those seeking exposure to the artificial intelligence market. For one, the company was built from day one to create ethical, transparent, and safe AI systems. This focus has become even more relevant as the misuse of AI is increasing.
OpenAI’s Founders and Expert Team: A Competitive Edge
The founders of OpenAI include some of the most important names in the tech and investment sectors. This team has a network that spans across the globe and has shown its capability to collaborate with the community to drive responsible AI adoption. Few competitors can match the combined expertise of OpenAI’s co-founders.
OpenAI’s First-Mover Advantage in Generative AI
OpenAI revolutionized the market when it introduced ChatGPT to the public. Since that time, there have been other projects that made strides, but OpenAI remains one of the pillars of innovation within the sector. The company is one of the best-known and established startups to exist.
Strategic Partnerships Fueling OpenAI’s Growth
OpenAI has a massive network of high-level partners that helped the project remain a top competitor. It secured a $1B investment from Microsoft alongside access to crucial services, including Azure cloud computing, early in its launch. Since that time, it’s continually expanded its ecosystem to integrate new features and tech ahead of the competition.
OpenAI and Developer Collaboration: APIs & Innovation
One of the best maneuvers that OpenAI made was to make the ChatGPT API available to anyone. This decision helped birth a parade of ChatGPT-powered services that evolved the market to where it is today. Even after converting from a non-profit, the company still pushed open collaboration with developers, doubling down on its goal to foster an active developer community.
What’s Next for OpenAI? New Models and Expanding Use Cases
OpenAI has several models in the works. These latest iterations could push AI even further with a focus on video from text prompts, problem-solving, and other advanced model upgrades. Additionally, the company will find ways to integrate its AI chat models into robotics and other electronics, opening the door for simpler interactions in the future.
How OpenAI Empowers Developers with AI Tools
Coding is another area where AI has shone brightly. CODEX makes creating AI-powered Apps as easy as entering a text prompt. In the future, OpenAI wants to streamline this further and open the door for anyone to create complex applications and websites without any prior coding experience. If successful, this venture could result in significant growth for the company.
Funding and Investor data sourced from Tracxn
1. Pre-IPO Secondary Marketplace
Secondary markets are purpose-built exchanges that connect pre-IPO shareholders with potential investors. These marketplaces can offer these assets because they work closely with employees, early-stage investors, and venture capitalists, who are crucial to the company’s pre-IPO growth.
Investing in pre-IPO shares of OpenAI could offer strong returns if the company’s valuation increases following its IPO. It’s common for company valuations to increase following an IPO. As such, it makes sense to add pre-IPO shares to your portfolio before the firm announces plans to go public.
Secondary marketplaces have many requirements. Here are some concerns you should be made aware of:
Eligibility: This approach requires you to be an accredited investor, meaning you will have to show at least $1M in liquid assets to qualify for access.
2. Private Equity Firms
Private equity firms gain access to pre-IPO shares during investment rounds. They then offer these shares to high-net-worth accredited investors with a commission. Notably, private equity firms are known to have extra stipulations, including blocking the sale of shares for years in some cases.
3. Employee Equity Sales
Many consider employee equity sales as the best way to acquire pre-IPO shares in OpenAI. This method of acquiring pre-IPO shares requires you to connect with former employees. It’s common for companies to issue shares as part of an incentive package. Notably, this profit-sharing method has become more popular, leading to more pre-IPO share opportunities for investors.
Private Transactions: There are a lot of hoops you will need to jump through to complete a private pre-IPO transaction, including creating specific legal agreements, conducting valuations, and setting in place any limitations on the transfer of the asset.
Brokerage: Brokers will take a lot of the confusion out of the pre-IPO process. These professionals can guide you through each step, ensuring full compliance and avoiding common errors untrained professionals make.
There are several risks that you should consider before jumping into the pre-IPO shares investment arena. Here are the top concerns:
Understanding Liquidity Risks of Pre-IPO Investments
If you are looking for an asset that you can sell right away, pre-IPO shares are not the best option.
These investments can include sales and transfer clauses that prevent the transfer of the asset until certain criteria, such as the IPO’s completion, are met. It’s even common for pre-IPO shares to require you to wait years before gaining the ability to sell your assets.
Finding a Broker
If you meet the requirements and are comfortable with the risks, several platforms offer access to pre-IPO opportunities:
Forge Global: One of the largest private stock marketplaces, offering shares in late-stage startups like SpaceX, Stripe, and Databricks. Minimums typically start around $100,000.
EquityZen: A popular platform allowing accredited investors to buy into private companies with minimums as low as $5,000. Past offerings include companies like Discord and UiPath.
Rainmaker Securities: A full-service broker that helps source and negotiate private share sales, including opportunities in companies like OpenAI, Stripe, and Palantir.
Hiive: A newer platform with live bid/ask pricing for hundreds of private companies. Transparent and low-fee, with minimums starting around $25,000.
MicroVentures: Offers pooled access to late-stage companies through special purpose vehicles (SPVs), including past investments in SpaceX and Instacart.
EquityBee: Allows investors to fund employee stock option exercises at startups, often at discounted valuations, with minimums around $10,000.
Augment: A digital-first marketplace showing real-time pricing for pre-IPO shares, targeting tech-savvy investors and offering lower transaction fees.
StartEngine Private: Launched in late 2023, this platform offers accredited investors access to Regulation D offerings in later-stage, venture-backed companies. In its first nine months, it generated $16.5 million in revenue, with average investments around $32,000
Important: Always perform thorough due diligence and consult a financial advisor before investing in private company shares.
OpenAI Valuation and IPO Outlook: What Investors Should Know
OpenAI secured a valuation of $300B, qualifying it as a Unicorn. The company created this value through strategic business maneuvers and by providing unique and helpful AI services to the community.
OpenAI remains a rare example of a non-profit organization converting to a capped-profit corporation and instantly becoming a Unicorn. Few companies have been so revolutionary in their sector as OpenAI has been to the artificial intelligence market. It took AI from something discussed on the news to a tool that is used by millions of people daily.
Consequently, those who can qualify for OpenAI pre-IPO shares could gain exposure to healthy growth potential as the AI market and OpenAI continue to expand. Notably, there’s more demand now for ethical AI services than ever, adding to the company’s influence.
Final Thoughts on Investing in OpenAI Pre-IPO Shares
OpenAI Pre-IPO shareholders possess some of the most highly coveted AI stocks available today. Although the company hasn’t stated plans to go public, its strong institutional support, combined with its market positioning, gives the company the potential to host one of the largest IPOs to date.
You should only consider purchasing OpenAI pre-IPO shares after consulting a financial expert. This maneuver will ensure that you remain within your risk appetite. There’s no guarantee that OpenAI shares will gain value if an IPO date is announced. For those who do the research and find that OpenAI fits their portfolio, the future looks bright.
Learn about Other Pre-IPO Opportunities Now
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Pre-IPO shares are typically available only to accredited investors and carry significant risk. Always perform thorough due diligence and consult a financial advisor or legal expert before making investment decisions.