India, Oct. 3 -- OpenAI's valuation reached USD 500 billion this week. The company secured its position as the world's most valuable private, venture-backed startup. The new figure surpasses the reported USD 400 billion valuation of SpaceX.

Surprisingly, the valuation milestone did not come from a traditional primary funding round that raises new capital. Instead, it is a result of a USD 6.6 billion secondary share sale. The transaction allowed current and former employees to sell their stock to investors, including Thrive Capital, SoftBank, Dragoneer Investment Group and T. Rowe Price.

The market has justified this high valuation on the company's rapid penetration into the corporate sector. Financial reports indicate OpenAI generated a...