OpenAI is considering a stock sale to let employees cash in, one that could value the company at $500 b. as investor interest surges and competition for AI talent intensifies.

That would represent an eye-popping bump-up from its current valuation of $300 billion, with the sale underscoring both OpenAI’s rapid gains in users and revenue as well as the intense competition among artificial intelligence firms to secure talented workers.

OpenAI is in early talks about a potential sale of stock for current and former employees at a valuation of about $500 billion, people briefed on the investment discussions said, marking an enormous gain in value for the artificial intelligence leader.