OpenAI has completed a stock buyback worth roughly $7 billion, The Decoder reports, citing Bloomberg. The transaction allowed current and former employees to sell shares at the company’s current $852 billion valuation. The tender offer had reportedly been in motion since OpenAI’s $122 billion funding round in March. According to The Decoder, the aim was to ease liquidity pressure for employees who are waiting for a potential, delayed initial public offering. This is the second large employee liquidity event described in the report. The Decoder says OpenAI ran a similar stock sale in October 2025 worth $6.6 billion, with about 75 employees cashing out up to $30 million each. For private AI companies, employee tenders can serve a practical retention function: they give staff a way to realize some paper gains without forcing the company into the public markets. In OpenAI’s case, the reported $852 billion valuation also gives investors and employees a fresh reference point for how the private market is pricing one of the central companies in generative AI. The Decoder also frames the transaction as part of a broader wealth effect around AI in San Francisco. It reports that AI salaries are contributing to higher rents and that some wealthy families are sending children to AI-focused private schools charging up to $75,000 a year. Because this cluster has only one provided source, the exact tender mechanics and participation level should be treated as reported rather than independently confirmed here. The central fact pattern is clear from The Decoder’s account: OpenAI has used another large secondary sale to turn employee equity into cash while remaining private. Who benefits: Current and former OpenAI employees who were eligible to sell shares benefit most directly. OpenAI may also benefit if liquidity reduces pressure from employees waiting for an IPO. Who's exposed: Employees who remain heavily exposed to OpenAI equity still face the timing and valuation risk of a future public listing or later private-market transaction. Public-market investors remain outside the cap table unless and until an IPO occurs.