The artificial intelligence (AI) research and development segment is triggering one of the largest sectoral investment shocks in the history of capitalism in the United States.
OpenAI, an AI research and implementation startup founded in 2015, reflects this boom , establishing itself as one of the most valuable private companies in history – and helping its employees get richer through the stock options it offers to the most qualified executives, scientists, and researchers.
OpenAI authorized more than 600 current and former employees to sell company stock last October, collectively raising $6.6 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
To give you an idea of how much the company's stock has appreciated, since OpenAI issued its first shares seven years ago, long-time employees have seen the value of their shares grow more than 100 times. In comparison, the Nasdaq Composite index has practically tripled in the same period.
In the current batch of shares being traded, each employee was allowed to sell their shares up to a limit of US$30 million. A group of 75 of these employees reached that limit.
The WSJ summarized the sale of OpenAI stock by its employees as part of the biggest wealth-creation boom in tech history.
OpenAI required employees to wait two years before they could sell their shares, meaning the stock sale marked the first time many who joined the company after the launch of ChatGPT were able to pocket the money.
The case drew attention because hundreds of companies went public during the internet boom , but in most cases, their employees had to wait a long time, even after the IPO, to receive their profits. For some, the bubble burst before they could realize their profits, and many never even got to realize their potential wealth.
On the other hand, the sale of OpenAI shares offers a preview of the flood of money that the company is expected to generate with its planned IPO – anticipated to be one of the largest in history – allowing its employees to sell their shares and turning many of them into multimillionaires.
The exorbitant profits earned by OpenAI employees also help explain the accelerated growth in revenue and massive funding caused by the race among technology companies to develop AI.
The “Big Techs” ( Microsoft , Meta , Alphabet/Google, Amazon) are increasing their capital expenditure projections to over US$650 billion in 2026, focusing heavily on building data center infrastructure, GPUs, and language models.
Valued at US$852 billion after its March 2026 funding round – when it received US$122 billion in investments from companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and NVIDIA – OpenAI went from a non-profit entity to an industry giant in just 10 years.
In 2024, the company was worth approximately US$157 billion, jumping to US$400 billion by the end of 2025, and reaching the near trillion dollar mark this year.
In November, OpenAI surpassed the milestone of 1 million enterprise customers worldwide, solidifying its position as the fastest-growing business platform in history. The list includes giants such as American Express, Cisco, Lowe's, Morgan Stanley, T-Mobile, and Target, among others.
On Monday, the 11th, Greg Brockman – who helped found OpenAI along with Sam Altman and Elon Musk – admitted during court testimony in the trial between Musk and OpenAI that he holds a stake in the startup, where he serves as chairman, valued at approximately US$30 billion.
Heavy competition
OpenAI is not alone in this accelerated growth of AI investments. Estimates indicate that between 40% and 60% of all venture capital in the US is being directed towards AI startups and projects.
As expected, investments in Silicon Valley companies focused on AI development are causing a major transformation in the job market.
The scale of compensation packages for highly specialized AI professionals is unprecedented in modern history. The war between some of the world's richest companies for the best AI professionals is making them as wealthy as NBA players and Hollywood stars.
This multi-million dollar talent recruitment drive is led by Mark Zuckerberg , who is personally assembling his dream AI team. Zuckerberg has been making lightning offers, expiring in just a few days, to make it difficult for Meta's competitors to negotiate effective counter-offers.
For his new AI division focused on superintelligence—that is, AI smarter than humans—Zuckerberg hired professionals from Anthropic, Google DeepMind, and Apple, and brought in at least a dozen employees from OpenAI.
Zuckerberg chose Alexandr Wang to lead the new lab. To hire him, Meta paid $14 billion for a stake in Scale AI , the data labeling startup founded by the 28-year-old entrepreneur.
The new strategy has led the sector to question whether the social contract in Silicon Valley, which prioritized mission and united founders and employees, is unraveling. Meanwhile, some executives lament the erosion of what was once a fundamental principle of the American tech sector: be a missionary, not a mercenary – missionary being synonymous with adhering to companies with purpose, driven not only to make money, but to build meaning.
In practice, this is definitely becoming a thing of the past. Zuckerberg offered more than 10 OpenAI researchers exorbitant salary packages of $300 million over four years, including $100 million in the first year.
In other words, the race for AI talent is reshaping the old principle in Silicon Valley – if you're going to be a mercenary, do it to become a millionaire.
