TSMC (2330)'s board of directors approved a major strategic investment on November 10, 2026. Its wholly-owned overseas subsidiary TSMC Partners, Ltd. obtained special shares of OpenAI Group PBC, with a maximum investment limit of US$500 million. Based on this capital contribution and the upper limit of shareholding ratio, OpenAI’s valuation after completing its structural reorganization is approximately US$1.25 trillion. This important news not only revealed the capital profile of the unlisted company OpenAI, but also established TSMC’s new strategic depth from the foundry manufacturing side directly to the core of the top-level algorithm.
$992 per share anchors OpenAI’s net worth of $1.25 trillion
OpenAI has been restricted to the Capped-Profit LLC system controlled by non-profit foundations for many years. External strategic investors can only participate through equity or convertible debt with a profit cap. With its reorganization into OpenAI Group PBC, TSMC disclosed this major information in accordance with Taiwan's securities regulations. Based on a subscription limit of US$500 million corresponding to no more than 0.04% of the equity, the company's implied valuation has officially reached the US$1.25 trillion mark, corresponding to a total number of shares of approximately 1.26 billion. The pricing level of approximately US$992 per share establishes OpenAI’s worth on the valuation ladder of global technology giants.
Rights, Obligations and Defense Clauses: Preferential payment of special shares builds a downside protection network
In terms of the contractual rights structure, what TSMC subscribed this time was not ordinary shares, but convertible preferred shares with substantial legal defense barriers. This class of shares is stated to enjoy the "Liquidation Preference", which means that if the commercialization of generative AI in the future is not as expected, or even faces reorganization and liquidation, it will enjoy a certain degree of liquidation priority protection. This clause allows TSMC to ensure the excellent resilience of asset principals and successfully minimize capital exposure when facing a high valuation environment of more than US$1.2 trillion.
Convertible equity, super leverage expected to ride the IPO value-added train
In addition to downside protection, the "Conversion Rights" built into these special shares are a key mechanism for TSMC to control capital gains. If OpenAI officially submits an S-1 prospectus to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the future and launches a public listing (IPO), TSMC can convert the special shares into standard tradable ordinary shares in accordance with the agreement to fully capture the liquidity premium after listing. This mechanism is like holding a long-term subscription warrant that can be advanced to attack and retreated to defend. It not only avoids the deadlock of restricted non-public equity transfers, but also reserves institutional channels for the future profit models of ASML and ARM's batch divestments.
this article TSMC reveals OpenAI special stock conditions! $992 per share pushes up valuation of $1.25 trillion first appeared in Chain News ABMedia。
