(Reuters) -ChatGPT creator OpenAI is in talks to sell existing employees' shares at an $86 billion valuation, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
Last month, the Wall Street Journal had said that OpenAI, which is backed by Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), was seeking a valuation of up to $90 billion for a sale of shares.
OpenAI did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
ChatGPT, a chatbot that can generate human-like responses based on user prompts, has helped AI's popularity erupt and has fueled a meteoric rise in the valuation of San Francisco-based OpenAI. The company had earlier this year made a $300 million share sale at a valuation of $30 billion.
OpenAI is negotiating a tender offer with potential investors, Bloomberg reported, adding that the firm has not finalized allocations and terms could still change.