Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, attends the “Charting the Path Forward: The Future of Artificial Intelligence” event at Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Week in San Francisco, California on November 16, 2023.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
OpenAI’s tender offer, which would allow employees to sell shares of the startup to outside investors, remains on track despite leadership turmoil and board reshuffles, two people familiar with the matter told CNBC.
The tender offer will value OpenAI at the same level as reported in October, about $86 billion, and will be led by Josh Kushner’s Thrive Capital, according to the people, who spoke anonymously to freely discuss private communications .
The round and previously reported valuation were jeopardized by Sam Altman’s temporary ouster in early November, but his return cleared the way for the tender offer to proceed.
Takeover offers do not involve issuing new shares. Instead, Thrive and other participating investors will purchase existing units, most of which are owned by employees, providing them with liquidity. The $86 billion round is triple OpenAI’s previous fundraising in April, which valued the company at around $28 billion.
Another well-known person told CNBC that the round had been extended until January 5th.
The tender offer extension comes after a rollercoaster ride for the company a few weeks ago. OpenAI’s nonprofit board argued that Altman as CEO “was not consistently open in his communications with the board,” and his subsequent departure sparked uproar among investors and employees alike, particularly after Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said Altman and OpenAI- President Greg Brockman would lead a new AI lab under Microsoft. Employees threatened to leave en masse, signed an open letter and expressed support for Altman on social media, in part leading to significant turnover on OpenAI’s board.
On Wednesday, OpenAI announced the official return of Altman and Brockman to their previous roles, along with a new board that includes former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo. belong.
Microsoft has received a non-voting observer position on the committee, OpenAI announced on Wednesday. Nadella previously told CNBC that new governance was needed at the startup. Microsoft holds a 49% stake in OpenAI.
Not all major donors receive a director position. Tiger Global is unlikely to seek a board seat, consistent with the company’s longstanding practice, a person familiar with the matter said. OpenAI’s other major backers include Founders Fund, Sequoia Capital and, following the completion of the tender offer, Thrive Capital.
The Information and Bloomberg previously reported some details of the tender offer.
Sequoia Capital declined to comment on whether it would participate in the upcoming tender. The Founders Fund also will not participate in the takeover offer, a person familiar with the company said. A spokesperson for Thrive declined to comment, saying only that the company remains “committed” to OpenAI.
OpenAI did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
—CNBC’s Ari Levy and Jordan Novet contributed to this report.
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