ChatGPT owner OpenAI is in talks with investors to sell its existing shares at a much higher valuation from a few months ago. According to reports, this could raise its valuation upto $80 to $90 billion.

According to reports cited by Reuters and the Wall Street Journal, this valuation increase comes amidst an AI investment boom, positioning OpenAI as one of the world’s most valuable privately-held companies.

The surge in valuation would be nearly triple compared to what the firm was worth after a share sale earlier in 2023, according to the Wall Street Journal. The proposed sale would not raise new capital but would enable existing shareholders and insiders to offload their stakes.

If the deal is finalised, it would be the second major secondary share sale by the high-profile San Francisco-based start-up, marking a rise in valuation. Earlier this year, it made a $300 million share sale at a valuation of $30 billion. VC firms including Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive and K2 Global picked up the shares.

OpenAI also raised $10 billion in primary funding from Microsoft this year, which it uses to develop new products and fund AI model training.