$500 Billion : OpenAI Hits Historic Valuation Milestone

OpenAI has just reached a milestone. With a valuation of 500 billion dollars, the startup led by Sam Altman surpasses SpaceX and establishes itself as the most valued in the world. This rapid rise confirms the tech shift towards artificial intelligence. In the Web3 ecosystem, where digital infrastructure is a strategic competition ground, this breakthrough has not gone unnoticed. Beyond the numbers, it is a battle of influence between artificial intelligence and the decentralized economy.

OpenAI : a historic valuation redefining the technological order

OpenAI has just reached a symbolic and strategic milestone. Indeed, the company has achieved a valuation of 500 billion dollars following a secondary share sale, as it has just integrated instant purchase into ChatGPT.

In this transaction, current and former employees sold $6.6 billion worth of shares to a group of investors including Thrive Capital, SoftBank, Dragoneer Investment Group, Abu Dhabi’s MGX, and T. Rowe Price.

Thus, OpenAI now surpasses SpaceX’s valuation, estimated at around 400 billion dollars. It also overtakes ByteDance ($220 billion) and Anthropic ($183 billion), positioning itself as the most valued private startup in the world.

Unlike a traditional fundraising, this operation was conducted through the resale of existing shares, which shows the massive interest of investors in the company’s past performance and its future potential.

This revaluation of OpenAI fits into a context where AI is seen as the backbone of upcoming digital infrastructures.

Several key elements help understand this exceptional dynamic :

• $500 billion : the new valuation of OpenAI after the operation, without going through an initial public offering ;

• $6.6 billion : total amount of shares resold by employees ;

• Investors involved : Thrive Capital, T. Rowe Price, Dragoneer, SoftBank ;

• Nature of the operation : a secondary sale, allowing employees to liquidate their stakes ;

• Strategic context : a massive valuation achieved without IPO, in a climate of euphoria for generative AI.

This ranking, now dominated by OpenAI, marks a turning point in the global technological hierarchy, with AI clearly gaining the upper hand over other innovative sectors like aerospace or social networks.

Tether : the crypto unicorn that could rival without going public

While no crypto company has yet crossed the symbolic threshold of a 100 billion dollar valuation, a voice has risen claiming that Tether could reach or even exceed 500 billion dollars.

On June 7, Jon Ma, CEO of Artemis, stated that if Tether were to be listed on the stock exchange, its valuation could reach 515 billion dollars, which would make it the 19th largest public company in the world.

An estimate immediately commented on by Tether’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino, who called this figure a “beautiful number” while considering it “a bit low” given Tether’s significant reserves in bitcoin and gold. However, he specified that there is no need for the company to launch an IPO at this stage.

Tether valuation at 515B is a beautiful number.
Maybe a bit bearish considering our current (and increasing) Bitcoin + Gold treasury, yet I'm very humbled.
Also truly excited for the next phase of growth of our company.

Thank you everyone❤️ https://t.co/exZc05SDwd

— Paolo Ardoino 🤖 (@paoloardoino) June 7, 2025

These statements take on a particular significance in the context of a growing convergence between artificial intelligence and stablecoins. On September 3, Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital, claimed that AI agents will become the biggest users of stablecoins.

This anticipation already seems to be materializing. According to a report published by CEX.io Research, over 70 % of stablecoin transactions in the third quarter would already be linked to bot activities, notably automated by algorithms. Moreover, Galaxy Digital has taken a $1.4 billion loan to develop its Helios data center in Texas, dedicated to AI and HPC uses, aiming for an estimated annual return of more than one billion dollars.

These signals demonstrate that beyond spectacular valuations, a new autonomous digital infrastructure is emerging, where intelligent agents and cryptos interact without human intermediaries.

From this perspective, Tether could well embody one of the economic pivots of a digital future driven by AI. However, the rise of these technologies also raises critical questions, especially regarding energy, as highlighted by Greg Osuri (Akash) citing the necessity of nuclear power to support future AI needs. While Tether has no intention to go public, its influence could nevertheless grow considerably as uses become automated.