OpenAI, the big name in artificial intelligence, plans to set aside some shares for individual investors when it eventually goes public. This could be a huge opportunity for many. Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar told that the San Francisco-based company tested this idea with everyday people in its last funding round and saw “really strong demand.”
Friar confirmed that OpenAI will “for sure” save a piece of the pie for individual investors when it launches its initial public offering (IPO). Friar explained, “AI needs to build trust in everything we do. That’s part of why including everyday investors particularly resonates with me.” She added, “Everyone has to be a part of it; it shouldn’t just be for a small group, leaving everyone else behind.”
She looked back at her time as CFO of Square (now Block), where they offered a direct selling program to small businesses during its IPO. She also mentioned how OpenAI co-founder Elon Musk handled things with Tesla and SpaceX. SpaceX might go public as early as June and reportedly plans to save nearly 30% of its shares for individual buyers.
“Everyone wants to own a piece of a rocket company — I hope everyone wants to own a piece of ChatGPT. It helps when you’re a consumer brand,” Friar said. OpenAI recently raised three times the expected amount in what Friar called the largest private placement those banks have ever handled. One bank’s system even crashed when investors gained access to look at OpenAI’s financial details.
A source recently told that OpenAI has been talking to bankers about going public possibly by the fourth quarter. Friar didn’t comment on a specific timeline but said it’s “good practice” for a company of OpenAI’s size to “look and feel and act… like a public company.”
OpenAI’s value reached $852 billion after a massive $122 billion funding round, up from $110 billion announced in February. Unlike some Silicon Valley companies, OpenAI won’t stay private forever. “At our size, raising money through equity endlessly doesn’t make sense,” she stated. “You want to start moving away from just equity.”
She also highlighted other benefits of being a public company, like being able to use different types of debt to fund its continuous need for computing power. OpenAI already plans to spend $600 billion over the next five years on chips and data centers.
“Computing power is the big competitive tool,” Friar said, calling it the ” most important asset you can have.” She explained that offering more computing power directly improves customer experience, which then leads to more revenue and cash flow. She wants to ensure they are always ready to access large financial markets.
