OpenAI vs xAI
Side-by-side equity comparison for employees weighing offers at OpenAI or xAI. Valuations, funding history, headcount growth, and secondary-market context.
| OpenAI | xAI | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest valuation | $852B | $50B |
| Latest round | Series E | Series C |
| Round date | October 2024 | March 2025 |
| Total raised | $13.3B | $12B |
| Founded | 2015 | 2023 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Employees | 7,829 | 5,214 |
| Employee YoY growth | +71% | +88% |
| Primary industry | Artificial Intelligence | Artificial Intelligence |
| Secondary-market price | $664.96 | — |
| Base-case equity multiple | — | — |
| Upside equity multiple | — | — |
| Lead investors | Thrive Capital, SoftBank Vision Fund | Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz |
| Status | private | private |
Overview
OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company that develops general-purpose AI systems including GPT large language models and the ChatGPT consumer product.
Artificial intelligence company founded by Elon Musk, developing the Grok large language model integrated with the X (Twitter) platform.
Why we compare these
OpenAI and xAI both appear on AI foundation model labs .
OpenAI appears on Sara's List 2024; xAI is a direct competitor we track alongside it.
If you're evaluating offers at either one, the equity math depends on more than the headline valuation — dilution, strike price, time to liquidity, and concentration risk all matter. Use our equity compensation calculator and exit calculator to model your own numbers.