OpenAI Achieves $500B Valuation, Overcoming SpaceX as the Leading Startup
OpenAI’s latest valuation marks it as the leading startup globally, with a robust $500 billion valuation achieved through a secondary share sale.
According to a report by Bloomberg, citing confidential sources, ex-employees and current staff of OpenAI sold $6.6 billion in stock to various investors including Thrive Capital, SoftBank, and T.Rowe Price.
With this investment, OpenAI has outstripped Elon Musk’s SpaceX, valued at about $400 billion, and eclipsed other startups like ByteDance and Anthropic, which stand at $220 billion and $183 billion, respectively.
This development not only highlights the excitement surrounding AI but also illustrates the increasing intersection between AI and blockchain technologies, which are seen as foundational to future digital infrastructure.
OpenAI and Crypto Firms
At a staggering $500 billion, OpenAI dwarfs major players in the cryptocurrency sector. According to Google Finance, Coinbase, the largest public crypto exchange, reaches a market cap of around $89 billion.
Even the most promising crypto firms, like Ripple and Circle, have not yet exceeded the $100 billion threshold.
However, with the rising popularity of stablecoins, the issuer Tether is perceived as the closest crypto competitor to OpenAI’s market cap. In a previous statement, Artemis CEO Jon Ma suggested that if Tether were ever to go public, its valuation could be as high as $515 billion, placing it as the 19th largest public company.
This prompted Tether’s CEO Paolo Ardoino to remark on the appealing figure, yet he cited it as a “bit bearish” based on their holdings in Bitcoin and gold, asserting “no need” for Tether to pursue a public offering.
Source: Paolo Ardoino
AI Agents as Principal Stablecoin Users
As both AI and stablecoins contribute significantly to the framework of digital infrastructure, industry experts note their potential synergies. On September 3, Galaxy Digital’s CEO Mike Novogratz stated that AI agents are forecasted to become the biggest adopters of stablecoins.
Recent evaluations by CEX.io Research indicate that over 70% of stablecoin transactions in Q3 of 2025 can be traced back to bot activity.
Furthermore, on August 15, Galaxy Digital secured a $1.4 billion loan to expedite its Texas Helios AI data center, poised to generate over $1 billion annually through supporting CoreWeave’s AI and high-performance computing operations.
Increasing Concerns of AI Development
Despite the advancements in AI, Greg Osuri, founder of Akash, warned that the energy demands for AI may escalate to a point where existing energy grids cannot accommodate them. At Token2049 in Singapore, Osuri stated that AI could potentially require “nuclear power” to maintain its training models, advocating for sustainable solutions such as decentralized AI training.
Related: Over 70% of stablecoin transactions in Q3 linked to bots, report finds
