Eightco Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: ORBS), a publicly traded company focused on investments at the intersection of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence, announced on Friday, March 20, 2026, that it has acquired an additional $40 million equity stake in OpenAI. This brings Eightco's total investment in the private AI giant, co-founded by Sam Altman, to $90 million.
Eightco's CEO, Kevin O'Donnell, stated the investment is a "transformative opportunity" for the company and its shareholders. He emphasized that Eightco's strategy is to provide retail investors with exposure to high-growth private tech firms, an arena traditionally dominated by institutional capital. "Access to high-growth private companies has historically been limited to institutional investors, and we're proud to offer retail investors meaningful exposure to one of the most important AI companies in the world," O'Donnell said.
The company's investment profile is deeply intertwined with the World ecosystem, a crypto project backed by Sam Altman. Eightco is the largest public holder of WLD, World's native token, owning approximately 10% of the total supply following a $250 million private placement last year. World, developed by Altman's Tools for Humanity, is a proof-of-humanity project that uses biometric eye scans for user verification.
Eightco's strategy has garnered significant market attention due to its association with prominent investor Tom Lee, chairman of Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR). Lee recently joined Eightco's board of directors, and Bitmine has invested $75 million into the company. Beyond its OpenAI and WLD holdings, Eightco's treasury includes roughly $24 million in Ethereum (ETH) and a $25 million investment in Beast Industries, the media platform founded by MrBeast, which is also part of Bitmine's portfolio.
Following the announcement, Eightco's shares (ORBS) experienced a decline of about 5% in early trading on Friday.
