Reddit's public debut could mean big bucks for OpenAI CEO Sam Altman
Reddit's IPO filing reveals Altman is the social media platform's third-largest shareholder
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, on his way to a Senate AI forum, speaks about labor market changes
OpenAI CEO answers questions from FOX Business’ Hillary Vaughn ahead of a Senate event.
Reddit will make its much-anticipated debut on the New York Stock Exchange in March, and its initial public offering filed this week shows OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stands to make a fortune from the social media platform going public.
Reddit's prospectus shows Altman is the third-largest shareholder in the company, owning 4.5% of its Class A shares and 9.3% of Class B shares, amounting to 9.2% voting power ahead of the IPO.
Sam Altman pauses during the New Work Summit in Half Moon Bay, Calif., Feb. 25, 2019. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Altman has a long history with Reddit. He invested in the company while he was president of tech startup accelerator Y Combinator and worked briefly as Reddit's CEO in 2014.
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Altman became the CEO of OpenAI in 2020, and the Microsoft-backed artificial intelligence research lab grew in worldwide notoriety after its release of ChatGPT in November 2022.
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Reddit was valued at $10 billion in a funding round in 2021, but it is unclear what valuation the company will aim for during its share sale in the coming weeks. It is expected to seek a sale of nearly 10% of its shares in the IPO, Reuters previously reported.
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Reddit will make its public debut in March, nearly two decades after its launch. (Photo Illustration by Sheldon Cooper/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)
According to CNBC, Altman has invested at least $60 million in Reddit over the years, and he stands to net millions when the company goes public.
The IPO filing showed CEO Steven Huffman holds Class B common stock that is issuable upon achieving a vesting condition — that Reddit attains a $5 billion market capitalization valuation after the offering.
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The social media platform is reportedly expected to hit the valuation target from the get-go.
Alexis Ohanian, chairman and co-founder of Reddit Inc., right, speaks as Steve Huffman, CEO and co-founder of Reddit Inc., listens during a television interview in San Francisco Aug. 23, 2016. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Founded in 2005 by web developer Steve Huffman and entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian, husband of tennis champion Serena Williams, Reddit has been backed by several marquee investors, from venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz to China's tech behemoth, Tencent Holdings.
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Tencent is the second-largest shareholder in the company with 11.6% voting power, behind the Newhouse family's Advance Magazine Publishers, which has a 34% controlling interest.
FOX News' Emma Colton and Reuters contributed to this report.