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OpenAI will soon no longer be controlled by its nonprofit board as the firm shakes up its organizational structure to attract new investors, according to Reuters. The report comes just as the firm's chief technology officer, Mira Murati, who has spent years at the firm, announced her decision to leave the company on X (formerly Twitter). Reports of such a shakeup have been surfacing throughout this year, and as per the details, while the nonprofit board will relinquish control over the firm, it will continue to hold a stake in the for profit arm.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Will Receive Equity In For Profit Arm As Firm Navigates To Become For Profit Benefit Corporation
Reports of OpenAI considering to remove profit caps for investors surfaced late last month through sources quoted by the Financial Times. The report followed earlier ones which claimed that big ticket names such as Apple were interested in investing in the firm, and in its statement to FT, OpenAI stressed that the nonprofit arm was "core" to its mission.
According to Reuters, as part of its effort to woo investors, OpenAI is considering removing the control that the nonprofit board has on the for profit entity. The board was at the center of significant upheaval at the firm last year when its CEO Sam Altman left and then returned after considerable effort from one of OpenAI's biggest partners, Microsoft.
OpenAI's nonprofit arm will continue to exist and own a minority stake in the for profit company. The current governance structure was designed to ensure that OpenAI's operations were aligned with actions that were beneficial to society as a whole.
In its statement made to Reuters, OpenAI asserted that it remains "focused on building AI that benefits everyone." The firm added that it is "working with our board to ensure that we're best positioned to succeed in our mission." As for the nonprofit arm, OpenAI repeated that it is "core" to its mission and "will continue to exist." The statement does not directly address the extent of control the nonprofit will have on the for profit arm, with the sources adding that the restructuring is being worked out and the timeline for its completion is uncertain.
As part of the efforts, OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman is also slated to receive equity in the for profit division as part of the restructuring. OpenAI is believed to be worth around $150 billion, making it one of the most valuable startups in the world.
The report comes on the heels of OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati's abrupt departure from the firm. In an X post, the executive shared that she was "stepping away" to "create the time and space to do my own exploration." Murati's departure is another high profile one for OpenAI, after co founder John Schulman left the firm to join rival Anthropic earlier this year. Schulman was OpenAI's head of alignment, and the firm's president, Greg Brockman, is also on extended leave until the end of this year.
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