[Exclusive] OpenAI Shares of ‘ChatGPT’ Developer to Be Released... Major Domestic Institutions Considering Investment

OpenAI Employee Shares Expected to Enter Market
Possibility of Employee Turnover Raises Supply Control Debate... Plans for Further Increase Also Considered

Some shares of OpenAI, the developer of 'ChatGPT,' are being released to the market. Amid the current downturn in the startup market caused by the bankruptcy of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in the U.S., major domestic institutions see this as an opportune time to invest in valuable companies and are actively considering investments.

According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 17th, major domestic institutions have received investment information and proposals through key overseas venture capital contacts that OpenAI employees will soon be selling their shares. A senior official from Institution A stated, "Shares held by OpenAI employees who have worked hard since the company's inception are coming to the market, but the exact volume has not yet been determined," adding, "The process is proceeding through global venture capitalists who invested early, and the selling price is said to be the same as the price at which Microsoft (MS) recently invested."

However, there are concerns that OpenAI employees might leave after realizing large profits, so the volume of shares released may be adjusted. Additionally, OpenAI is reportedly planning additional capital increases to secure a solid competitive edge.

Following the SVB bankruptcy, Silicon Valley venture capitalists, struggling with a shortage of funds, are actively seeking investments by sending employees to Korea. An official from Institution A added, "Major U.S. VCs, who previously prioritized Korean institutions lower, are now actively providing good deals and investment information after the SVB bankruptcy."

OpenAI's current corporate value reaches 38 trillion won. It is the world's most prominent artificial intelligence research and development (R&D) company. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, founded the company in 2015 with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, and Peter Thiel, president of Clarium Capital, aiming to develop 'digital intelligence' that benefits humanity.

OpenAI was initially established as a non-profit company with Musk pledging to donate $1 billion (approximately 1.3 trillion won). However, in 2018, Musk resigned from OpenAI's board due to conflicts of interest related to Tesla's AI research, leading to financial difficulties as he invested only one-tenth of the promised donation.

To continue its research, OpenAI transitioned into a for-profit company and received a $1 billion investment from MS. Subsequently, MS invested an additional $10 billion (approximately 13 trillion won) earlier this year. MS is reportedly entitled to 75% of OpenAI's profits until it recoups its investment. MS holds 49% of OpenAI's shares, while the remaining 49% and 2% are held by other investors and OpenAI's non-profit parent company, respectively.

The generative AI market is currently escalating into a battle among big tech companies, driving up the valuations of related firms. MS, allied with OpenAI, has gained an advantage by integrating ChatGPT into its search engine Bing, while Google launched its generative AI Bard and allied with startup Anthropic to counter. Following Amazon and Meta, Elon Musk also entered the competition by creating X.AI.