OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Set to Make Millions as Reddit Prepares for IPO

(CTN News) – OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stands to profit millions from Reddit’s upcoming IPO, which is expected to be one of the biggest of the year.

According to the social media company’s regulatory filing, Sam Altman owns a significant position in Reddit Inc., which also mentions its IPO aspirations.

In its filing, Reddit did not disclose proposed IPO details, including valuation. The specifics are expected to be revealed in the firm’s next filing.

According to Bloomberg, 38-year-old Altman owns around 8.7% of Reddit’s outstanding shares, as stated in the S-1, which was made public on Thursday. This includes 789,456 Class A and 11.4 million Class B shares.

Advance Magazine Publishers Inc., part of the Newhouse family publishing business, is Reddit’s largest shareholder, accounting for roughly one-third of voting power.

According to Bloomberg News, Reddit has been asked to contemplate a $5 billion valuation for its IPO. According to Bloomberg estimates, Sam Altman’s share in the company is worth $435 million.

Sam Altman and Reddit Connection

Sam Altman has a long history with the San Francisco-based social networking startup. He’d even held the top executive position at Reddit for about a week. Altman and Reddit co-founders Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian were among the first participants in the Y Combinator accelerator programme in 2005.

“Although my eight days as CEO of Reddit have been somewhat enjoyable, I am glad they are coming to an end,” he said, announcing the appointment of temporary CEO Ellen Pao.

In its filing, Reddit stated that it intends to expand its company in part through data licencing agreements with artificial intelligence businesses and developing its own AI products.

“Reddit’s vast and unmatched archive of real, timely, and relevant human conversation on literally any topic is an invaluable dataset for various purposes, including search, AI training, and research,” wrote Reddit co-founder and current CEO Huffman in a letter with the petition.

The company was created in 2005, and in the fourth quarter, it received an average of 73.1 million daily active unique visitors. In 2023, the company’s net loss decreased to $90.8 million on $804 million in revenue, down from $158.6 million on $666.7 million the previous year.