[News] AI Boom Pushes Global Hectocorns Estimated Combined Valuation to $1.4T; OpenAI Leads

According to MoneyDJ, citing Nikkei, there are now six “hectocorn” companies worldwide (referring to unlisted firms valued at over USD 100 billion). As of early September, their combined valuation has reportedly reached about USD 1.4 trillion—nearly twice the size of Japan’s national budget. The report points out that these companies illustrate how capital is flowing into leading players in generative AI, such as U.S.-based OpenAI.

The report notes that with the surge of generative AI, four AI-related “hectocorns” have been added over the past year. The strongest momentum comes from OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, whose valuation reached USD 300 billion in March 2025—expanding tenfold in just two years.

As the report highlights, startup investment is increasingly concentrated in the AI sector. Notably, NVIDIA announced on September 22 that it will invest up to USD 100 billion in OpenAI.

NVIDIA’s investment follows a recent secondary round in which investors valued OpenAI at USD 500 billion, as noted by CNBC. Microsoft, one of OpenAI’s earliest backers, maintains a strategic partnership that integrates OpenAI models into its Azure cloud platform and Microsoft Office suite. Other notable investors include SoftBank and Thrive Capital, CNBC adds.

MoneyDJ, citing Nikkei, points out that OpenAI is closing in on Toyota, Japan’s most valuable company by market capitalization. The report adds that U.S.-based Anthropic, with a valuation of USD 183 billion, has surpassed Sony.

Meanwhile, the world’s first “hectocorn” was China’s ByteDance, parent company of TikTok, which reached a valuation of USD 100 billion in 2020 and is currently valued at around USD 300 billion. The second was U.S.-based SpaceX, which became a “hectocorn” in 2021 and is now valued at about USD 400 billion, as indicated by MoneyDJ, citing Nikkei.

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(Photo credit: OpenAI)