SoFi Members Get Access to Private OpenAI Stock
SoFi members can now invest in highly sought-after private AI companies, including OpenAI, Perplexity AI, and Colossal Biosciences. The limited-time offering is facilitated by a partnership with private market infrastructure provider Templum, opening up pre-IPO access to retail investors.
This offering taps into some of the most valuable private companies in the world. OpenAI recently secured a staggering $110 billion in a funding round that boosted its valuation to $730 billion, with a potential IPO eyed for late 2026. The other firms are also experiencing meteoric growth. Search engine startup Perplexity AI, founded in 2022, has seen its valuation surge to around $18 billion. Meanwhile, biotech firm Colossal Biosciences reached "decacorn" status with a valuation of over $10 billion in 2025. Historically, access to such pre-IPO shares was the exclusive domain of venture capital firms and institutional investors. Regulatory hurdles and high capital requirements created significant barriers for the average person, though regulations like the 2012 JOBS Act began to slowly open the market. The partnership relies on Templum's specialized infrastructure, which is designed to automate and connect the fragmented private markets. Templum provides the underlying technology and broker-dealer support that allows platforms like SoFi to offer these alternative assets to their members. For SoFi, this is a strategic expansion of its alternative investment platform. The company has previously collaborated with Templum to offer access to other high-profile private firms, including SpaceX, Databricks, and xAI, through investment vehicles like the Cosmos Fund. The investment in Colossal Biosciences is a bet on the "de-extinction" market. The company, which aims to revive species like the woolly mammoth, announced its first living proof-of-concept in April 2025: three dire wolf pups born through gene editing and cloning. This access is provided to accredited investors, who must meet specific income or net worth thresholds defined by the SEC. The structure allows individuals to purchase membership interests in a fund that holds the shares of the private companies.
