Following the ouster of CEO Sam Altman, the future of OpenAI is in question and the ultimate repercussions unclear. With a majority of OpenAI employees poised to jump ship and follow Altman to Microsoft, the startup that brought the world ChatGPT looks like an empty shell, and a deal for insiders to cash out equity at an $86 billion valuation is effectively dead on arrival.
But there’s one clear winner. Microsoft has added $63 billion to its market capitalization since Friday’s close, according to Fortune’s calculations. The company’s stock reached $378 per share in midday trading on Monday, an all-time high. If that price holds by Monday's market close, Microsoft's market cap, based on its 7.429 billion shares outstanding, will total $2.82 trillion.
