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In March 2025, OpenAI secured a landmark $40 billion funding round led by SoftBank, elevating its valuation to $300 billion. This substantial investment aims to advance AI research, expand computational infrastructure, and enhance tools like ChatGPT.
Prior to this, in October 2024, OpenAI raised $6.6 billion in a Series E round led by Thrive Capital, which valued the company at $157 billion.
To date, OpenAI has amassed approximately $57.9 billion across multiple funding rounds.
How to Invest in ChatGPT (OpenAI): Can You Buy Stock?
As of 2025, OpenAI—the company behind ChatGPT—remains privately held, meaning its stock is not available for public trading on major stock exchanges.
This private status restricts direct investment options for everyday retail investors.
While there has been speculation about a potential IPO, OpenAI has not announced any formal plans to go public. The company currently operates with a unique capped-profit model, balancing commercial growth with its mission-driven focus on artificial general intelligence (AGI).
Ways Accredited Investors Can Gain Exposure to OpenAI
Although retail investors cannot buy OpenAI shares directly, accredited investors may gain exposure through secondary markets and strategic investment vehicles.
Pre-IPO platforms like EquityZen and Forge: These platforms occasionally list opportunities to purchase OpenAI shares from employees or early stakeholders. For example, if an OpenAI team member sells vested shares, they may appear for sale on platforms like Forge.
VC funds with OpenAI exposure: Several prominent venture firms—including Khosla Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz—have invested in OpenAI. While individual participation in these funds is limited to high-net-worth investors, it offers indirect access to OpenAI’s growth.
Strategic partnerships and corporate funds: Microsoft, which has invested over $13 billion into OpenAI, may offer indirect exposure through AI-related initiatives, though not through equity ownership. Other institutional investors may also gain stakes via private rounds.
AI-themed venture funds: Funds like the ARK Venture Fund (ARKVX) or others focused on private AI startups may allocate portions to OpenAI or companies closely integrated with its ecosystem.
These options are typically reserved for accredited investors and involve higher risk due to the illiquid nature of private equity and limited financial transparency.
Still, they represent rare pathways to gain a stake in one of the most influential AI firms of the decade.
What Companies Own OpenAI Stock?
Because OpenAI LP is not publicly traded, direct ownership is limited to private deals, yet a few notable players have secured major investments:
Microsoft: Microsoft is OpenAI’s largest partner and has invested over $13 billion through a combination of cash, cloud credits, and engineering support. While Microsoft doesn’t own equity in OpenAI LP, it receives a significant share of the company’s profits under their exclusive commercial licensing agreement.
Khosla Ventures and Founders Fund: Both firms participated in earlier funding rounds and remain key institutional backers.
Thrive Capital and Tiger Global: These investment firms were part of a high-profile tender offer in 2023, where OpenAI’s valuation reportedly reached $86 billion.
ARK Venture Fund (ARKVX): While not officially confirmed, some speculative reports suggest ARKVX has exposure to OpenAI or its key ecosystem players through private investments.
These ownership structures underscore how access to OpenAI equity remains concentrated among large institutional investors and insiders.
Alternatives to Buying OpenAI Stock or Individual Investors
Since direct investment in OpenAI isn't currently available to the public, here are some alternative ways to gain exposure to the AI boom and ChatGPT ecosystem:
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Invest in Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)
Microsoft is the closest publicly traded proxy to OpenAI.
Through its multibillion-dollar partnership, Microsoft integrates ChatGPT technology into products like Bing, Microsoft 365, and Azure.
Investors benefit indirectly from OpenAI’s growth via Microsoft's AI-driven business model.
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Consider AI-Focused ETFs
ETFs like the Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF (BOTZ) or ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (ARKQ) invest in companies developing or adopting cutting-edge AI solutions.
These funds offer diversified exposure to the broader AI landscape, including firms benefiting from large language models (LLMs) and generative AI.
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Explore Other AI Startups and Ecosystem Players
While OpenAI itself is private, companies like Anthropic, Cohere, and Inflection AI are rising competitors. While they’re also private for now, monitoring pre-IPO opportunities could be valuable.
Meanwhile, public companies like NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) provide the hardware powering most generative AI systems, including ChatGPT.
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Invest in Tech Leaders Embracing Generative AI
Major tech companies like Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), and Meta (META) are developing or integrating generative AI in their platforms.
Their R&D investments position them to capitalize on advancements driven by OpenAI and other AI labs.
FAQ
OpenAI is not publicly traded, so you can’t invest in it through traditional stock exchanges. However, indirect exposure is possible through companies like Microsoft.
OpenAI LP uses a capped-profit structure where investor returns are limited to a pre-set multiple. This model supports OpenAI’s mission-focused nonprofit goals while still attracting funding.
There are no confirmed plans for OpenAI to go public. The company appears committed to remaining private while continuing its partnership with Microsoft.
Most mutual funds don't currently have direct OpenAI exposure, but some tech-focused or AI-themed venture funds may include investments in companies tied to OpenAI’s ecosystem.
Yes, many startups use OpenAI's APIs and tools, and some may become public or offer pre-IPO investment opportunities. These companies offer an indirect way to benefit from ChatGPT’s adoption.
Microsoft has a profit-sharing agreement with OpenAI, especially through exclusive licensing. By owning Microsoft shares, you're indirectly tied to OpenAI’s success in enterprise and cloud markets.
Investments in private companies lack liquidity and public transparency. Valuations can also be volatile and hard to verify without regular financial disclosures.
These platforms let accredited investors buy shares from employees or early investors of private companies. Access to OpenAI shares is rare and depends on seller availability.
Yes, OpenAI develops APIs, coding tools like Codex, and enterprise AI solutions. It’s expanding into voice, vision, and agent-based systems as well.
While exact returns are private, OpenAI’s valuation has increased significantly over the years. Early backers have likely seen strong paper gains, especially given recent funding rounds.
OpenAI is unique in its capped-profit model and tight partnership with Microsoft. It also leads the generative AI space with ChatGPT, while competitors build similar models with different philosophies.
Yes, by investing in chipmakers like NVIDIA or cloud providers like Amazon, you can benefit from the infrastructure behind generative AI technologies like ChatGPT.
