OpenAI CEO Sam Altman walks between meetings on Capitol Hill, in Washington, U.S., July 29, 2026.Nathan Howard | ReutersOpenAI completed a secondary share sale totaling roughly $7 billion, allowing current and former employees to sell stock at the company's $852 billion valuation, CNBC confirmed on Monday.The tender offer has been in the works since OpenAI closed its record-breaking $122 billion funding round in March. The deal will help alleviate some near-term pressure for liquidity, allowing employees to cash in a portion of their holdings ahead the company's potentially massive IPO.Bloomberg was first to report the $7 billion figure.OpenAI rocketed into the mainstream following the launch of its ChatGPT chatbot in 2022, and it's ballooned into one of the fastest-growing private companies on the planet in the years since. The company confidentially filed its prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission in June, but hasn't disclosed an official timeline for its debut. Rival Anthropic is in a similar position. Secondary sales have become part of OpenAI's pre-IPO strategy. The company completed a $6.6 billion tender offer at a $500 billion valuation in October, and a $1.5 billion tender offer in 2024. —CNBC's Kate Rooney contributed to this report WATCH: Big Tech’s Anthropic, OpenAI stakes distort S&P earnings picturewatch now