You can’t buy OpenAI stock on a normal exchange — but you can invest in one of its partners, and some investors may be eligible to buy shares on private equity markets.
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Updated · 3 min read Written by Lead Writer+ more + more Edited by Managing EditorWe’re not going to make you scroll through an entire article for your answer: OpenAI is not a publicly-traded company, so you can't buy shares of its stock on a stock exchange.But OpenAI shares may be available to accredited investors on certain pre-IPO marketplaces, and there are some publicly-traded funds that have exposure to OpenAI. Also, one of OpenAI’s partners is a blue-chip technology company — Microsoft — that anyone can invest in.
What is OpenAI?
OpenAI is a California-based artificial intelligence research organization led by tech entrepreneur Sam Altman. It’s the developer of the generative pre-trained transformer (GPT) AI models that power popular AI products like ChatGPT, DALL-E and Sora.OpenAI’s mission, according to its charter, is to “ensure that artificial general intelligence (AGI) — by which we mean highly autonomous systems that outperform humans at most economically valuable work — benefits all of humanity
.”The organization is widely perceived as being on the cutting-edge of AI development. It also plays a prominent role in AI safety — the study and practice of avoiding conflict between AI and humans — although its approach to AI safety has been controversial.Brokerage firms
As previously mentioned, you can’t buy OpenAI stock with a normal brokerage account because it isn’t a publicly-traded company.OpenAI currently has an unusual structure consisting of a nonprofit organization (OpenAI, Inc.) and a for-profit company (OpenAI Global, LLC) that is owned by that nonprofit organization. The nonprofit, OpenAI, Inc. is led by a board of directors consisting of experts on technology and economics, and is focused on guiding the development of AI in a safe and ethical way.OpenAI employees have equity in the for-profit company, OpenAI Global, which owns the rights to OpenAI’s models and generates revenue by licensing them out to users.OpenAI Global’s profit margins are “capped” at 100 times the initial investment on a project, which is why it is allowed to operate as a for-profit subsidiary of the nonprofit OpenAI, Inc .Make sense of the markets with The Nerdy Investor A weekly wrap on what's moving markets, plus two monthly deep-dives on how to improve your investing, straight to your inbox. Subscribe for free
Buying OpenAI shares on private markets
In September 2024, reports emerged that OpenAI had plans to restructure itself into a for-profit corporation and remove nonprofit control. However, on May 5, 2025, OpenAI announced that it would continue to be overseen and controlled by the nonprofit, with the for-profit LLC transitioning to a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) . PBCs often hold themselves to what's called a "triple bottom line" — people, planet and profit — and aim to produce a public benefit from their work. PBCs can go public, but OpenAI did not announce plans to do so. In the meantime, OpenAI shares have become available on certain private marketplaces for accredited investors (people who have a net worth of at least $1 million, or more than $200,000 in annual earned income over the last two years, or certain financial professional licenses). These marketplaces include EquityZen, Hiive, Upmarket and Forge Global. Even if you meet the wealth requirements to buy private OpenAI shares, it's worth considering that they are likely to be a pricey, complicated and risky investment that may not be easy to sell. Pre-IPO equity marketplaces are notoriously illiquid — there isn't a constant flow of buy and sell orders like you'd find on a major stock exchange, which means that not as many transactions happen and prices don't change as fast.Typically, shares of nonpublic companies are a very long-term investment. OpenAI investors wouldn't be able to sell their shares on the open market unless OpenAI completes an initial public offering (IPO), and there's no telling when (or even if) that'll happen.
Investing in OpenAI via funds
There's another way to get some exposure to OpenAI equity, and it's generally available to all investors, accredited or not: certain publicly-traded funds such as Ark Venture Fund, SuRo Capital and Fundrise Innovation Fund. But there are caveats here as well. These funds generally invest in multiple nonpublic companies, and aren't a "pure play" on OpenAI. Also, some are interval funds, meaning that investors can only buy or sell on certain dates (which may be quarterly, semiannually or annually). If you're considering investing in OpenAI via a fund, make sure you read the fine print to make sure you understand how much exposure to OpenAI the fund actually has, and whether there are any limitations on when and how you can buy or sell.
The bottom line on OpenAI
OpenAI isn't like, say, Apple — you can't buy its shares on a normal stock exchange — but that doesn’t mean the organization isn't on investors' radars.It’s the most prominent AI developer in the world. It’s at the center of many conversations about what AI safety means — and what benevolent AI might look like. And it’s worth hundreds of billions of dollars.At the time of writing, there’s no way to invest directly in OpenAI unless you're an accredited investor — and the only available indirect investments in the organization are Microsoft and certain special funds. But that could change in the future, if OpenAI continues to be in the vanguard of AI research.» Interested in other AI investments?Learn how to buy NVIDIA stock (NVDA)» Interested in other AI investments?Neither the author nor editor owned positions in the aforementioned investments at the time of publication.Neither the author nor editor owned positions in the aforementioned investments at the time of publication.Article sources Article sources NerdWallet writers are subject matter authorities who use primary, trustworthy sources to inform their work, including peer-reviewed studies, government websites, academic research and interviews with industry experts. All content is fact-checked for accuracy, timeliness and relevance. You can learn more about NerdWallet's high standards for journalism by reading our editorial guidelines. Open AI. Open AI Charter. Accessed Dec 14, 2023.OpenAI. OpenAI LP.OpenAI. Evolving OpenAI’s structure. Accessed May 8, 2025.About the authorSam TaubeSam Taube writes about investing for NerdWallet. He has covered investing and financial news since earning his economics degree in 2016. See full bio. Helpful resources How to Buy Stocks Online: A Guide to Placing Your First Trade Investment Calculator What Is the Average Stock Market Return? Is now a good time to buy stocks, or should I wait? More like this What Is a Brokerage Account? Where and How to Open One By Arielle O'Shea, Pamela de la FuenteBest Brokerage Accounts for Online Investing and Stock Trading in 2026 By Chris DavisInvestment Calculator By Chris DavisBest Investments: Where to Invest in 2026 By Chris Davis, Alieza DuranaThe Best-Performing Stocks in 2026 (By One-Year Returns) By Arielle O'Shea, Chris DavisInvesting in Dividend Stocks: Guide, Calculator and Top 7 Yields for June 2026 By Chris Davis, Sam Taube
