OpenAI plans to become for-profit company, says report

OpenAI is set to change its structure into a for-profit benefit corporation, which means its non-profit board will no longer control it, reports Reuters. The shift is designed to attract more investors.

The ChatGPT-maker’s non-profit segment will continue to exist but hold only a minority stake in the new company.

CEO Sam Altman is poised to receive an equity stake of about 7% in the for-profit company, which could be valued at $150 billion and potentially increase investor returns.

Growing success and departures
OpenAI was founded in 2015 and gained fame with the ChatGPT bot, which now has over 200 million weekly users, making it one of the fastest-growing apps in history.

It aims to raise $6.5 billion at a valuation of $150 billion, making it one of the most valuable startups globally.

However, there are concerns about the safety of its AI technology. Earlier this year, OpenAI disbanded its superalignment team, which focused on the long-term risks associated with AI.

Similar to competitors like Anthropic and xAI, the restructuring process is still being discussed legally, and there is no set timeline for its completion.

Following this week’s developments, several OpenAI executives have departed. Long-term CTO Mira Murati resigned on Wednesday, and later the same day, CEO Altman said research chief Bob McGrew and research vice president Barret Zoph were also leaving.