OpenAI is now the world's most valuable private company at $500 billion

OpenAI, a prominent artificial intelligence company, has become the world's most valuable private company, with a valuation of $500 billion. This surpasses the previous leader, SpaceX, which has a valuation of $400 billion. The company's valuation has been boosted by a recent secondary share sale, which raised $6.6 billion from investors, including SoftBank, MGX fund, Thrive Capital, and T. Rowe Price. OpenAI is in the process of transitioning to a new structure, becoming a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) controlled by its nonprofit arm. This move has drawn criticism from Elon Musk, one of OpenAI's founders, who claims the company is breaking its contract with him and violating its founding mission. However, OpenAI believes that becoming a PBC will make it more appealing to investors, as it will remove the cap on the financial returns they can receive. The company's ambitious plans include spending trillions of dollars on building data centers to run artificial intelligence services, as stated by its CEO, Sam Altman.