In 2022, OpenAI made history: the launch of ChatGPT allowed AI technology to truly enter people's lives and triggered the explosive growth of AI.
ChatGPT quickly became popular and broke user growth records . Sarah Friar, chief financial officer of OpenAI, said: "More than 250 million people use ChatGPT every week, and 5% to 6% of free users sign up for paid products."
The rapid user growth has directly driven the increase in OpenAI's revenue. According to data released by AI research organization FutureSearch, OpenAI has approximately 9.88 million paying users per month, with annual recurring revenue reaching $3.4 billion, of which 84% comes from ChatGPT paying users.
Today, AI has moved from the laboratory to the market, deeply involved in many industries such as medicine, finance, education, and manufacturing, and has become an important engine of global economic growth. As a pioneer in the field of AI , OpenAI has become one of the core forces in the development of global AI technology with its leading technology and strong R&D capabilities. This means that by investing in OpenAI, investors can expect to share the dividends brought by the development of AI technology.
However, OpenAI is not currently listed, so you cannot directly invest in its shares by purchasing them through the securities market. However, you can invest in OpenAI shares in advance in the following four ways.
Invest in related listed companies
Although OpenAI is not listed, the large technology companies and other key companies in the AI industry chain that continue to cooperate with it have become a way to indirectly invest in OpenAI .
Microsoft (MSFT)
Microsoft is a partner of OpenAI and has invested a total of $11 billion in OpenAI . It owns 49% of OpenAI 's shares and is entitled to up to 75% of its profits . Currently, Microsoft has integrated OpenAI 's technology into many of its core products, such as Office, Windows, GitHub, and Bing, to help customers use artificial intelligence tools such as the GPT model and promote the profitability of its AI services. By investing in Microsoft's stock, investors may benefit from OpenAI 's technological breakthroughs and commercialization process.
Nvidia (NVDA)
OpenAI's GPT series models and other deep learning technologies rely on powerful computing power, and Nvidia's GPU graphics cards play a key role in AI model training. As AI technology develops and becomes more popular, the demand for Nvidia chips increases, and its stock price benefits from the popularity of AI applications. Investing in Nvidia stock can not only indirectly participate in the development of OpenAI , but also share the growth dividend of the entire AI industry.
Alphabet ( GOOGL )
As the parent company of Google, Alphabet has also made a lot of investments in the field of artificial intelligence. Although it has a certain competitive relationship with OpenAI , its layout in the field of AI technology makes it another important way to invest in AI. You can directly participate in the wave of AI technology development by purchasing Alphabet's stocks.
Apple (AAPL)
In June 2024, Apple stated at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 24) that it would cooperate with OpenAI, and ChatGPT would be integrated into the next generation of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. As a world-renowned technology giant, Apple has a huge user base and stable cash flow , which can provide a wider range of application space for OpenAI's technology and accelerate the transformation of its technology from research and development to practical application. In addition, Apple's continued investment and development in the AI hardware and software ecosystem has great potential for integration with OpenAI's technology. In the future, more innovative AI applications and functions may be jointly launched to enhance the market competitiveness of both parties, which may bring potential benefits to investors.
TSMC (TSM)
TSMC has firmly established itself at the top of the global semiconductor industry with its world-leading process technology and near-monopoly in the advanced process market share . If the demand for AI computing continues to grow, TSMC could become one of the main beneficiaries.
In addition, investors can also invest in other technology companies involved in the field of AI, such as Amazon (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META), Arm Holdings (ARM), etc. These companies are closely connected with OpenAI in terms of technology, resources, market influence, etc. in the field of AI. By investing in them, they can indirectly participate in the development of OpenAI and share its technological dividends and market growth.
It is worth noting that the above companies usually have large business scales, and AI is not their only or core business. When investors consider indirectly participating in the development of OpenAI by investing in these companies, they need to comprehensively evaluate various factors such as the overall business layout of each company, industry competition situation, and operating risks, so as to more comprehensively weigh investment returns and potential risks and make rational decisions that are in line with their own investment goals and risk tolerance.
Invest in AI- related funds and ETFs
For investors who are unwilling to invest in a single stock, AI-related funds and ETFs provide a highly diversified and low-risk investment option.
ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (ARKQ)
The ETF focuses on cutting-edge fields such as automation, robotics and artificial intelligence, and the theme includes companies related to OpenAI technology, which can include multiple companies. Investors can indirectly invest in the application of OpenAI and other related technologies through this fund.
Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF ( BOTZ )
The ETF focuses on investing in companies in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence, covering a number of companies related to OpenAI technology, especially the success of hardware and technology platforms. By investing in this ETF, investors can diversify risks and share the development results of the AI industry.
iShares Exponential Technologies ETF ( XT )
The ETF is designed to track an index of stocks that are likely to benefit from long-term growth and innovation in robotics and artificial intelligence , and it currently holds more than 100 stocks, making it one of the largest ETFs focused on AI.
Its top three holdings include Arm Holdings (ARM), Adobe ( ADBE ) and Altair Engineering ( ALTR ) .
Private Equity and Venture Capital Funds
OpenAI itself is a private company, and some investors can indirectly obtain investment opportunities in OpenAI by participating in related private equity and venture capital funds . These funds usually invest in early-stage artificial intelligence technology companies or directly invest in cutting-edge technology companies such as OpenAI .
As of now, OpenAI has raised a total of US$21.9 billion in 10 rounds of financing. Major investors include Thrive Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, K2 Global, Sequoia Capital, Thrive Capital, Microsoft, Khosla Ventures, Reid Hoffman Foundation, etc.
Image source: crunchbase official website
From this point of view, well-known venture capital funds , such as Sequoia Capital and Goldman Sachs, have invested in OpenAI . Investors can indirectly participate in OpenAI 's investment by purchasing shares of these funds. Such investments are usually large and require greater capital investment.
Focus on the Pre-IPO Market
Although OpenAI currently has no plans to go public, it may do so in the future.
On December 27, 2024, OpenAI announced its major transformation plan for 2025. OpenAI is about to make major adjustments to its corporate structure, planning to transform its existing for-profit department into a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) and focus on social impact.
OpenAI stated in the announcement that as a public welfare company, OpenAI needs to balance the interests of shareholders and stakeholders with the public interest. To achieve this goal, OpenAI will offer " common stock " while using part of the profits to further its mission, " ensuring that general artificial intelligence (AGI) benefits all mankind " and benefit society.
In this case, investors can purchase its shares in advance through some platforms. For example, Hiive provides qualified investors with the opportunity to purchase its shares before the company goes public. Investors can pay attention to such platforms to see if there are OpenAI shares for sale. However, participating in Pre-IPO investment usually has certain thresholds and risks, which requires investors to have corresponding qualifications and risk tolerance.
Conclusion
Currently, OpenAI is valued at approximately $157 billion, up 82.5% from its $86 billion valuation when it was tendered for acquisition in December 2023. OpenAI 's $157 billion valuation makes it the third most valuable private company in the world, behind ByteDance and SpaceX.
In November 2024, SoftBank reached a tender offer agreement with OpenAI. SoftBank plans to purchase up to $1.6 billion worth of shares from eligible OpenAI shareholders at a price of $210 per share, which is consistent with the $157 billion valuation OpenAI received during its financing in October.
Additionally, it was revealed that OpenAI expects its revenue to soar to $11.6 billion by 2025.
Overall, as OpenAI 's technology continues to break through, its application scenarios in various industries are becoming increasingly extensive, and its future development prospects will be very broad. Looking ahead, OpenAI is expected to continue to lead the development of AI technology and bring new growth momentum to the global economy . Any new technology will bring risks to investors, but the development potential of generative AI technology may be huge, and investing in this field may bring potential rich returns.
