Sam Altman, founder of OpenAI, which makes ChatGPT, is poised to secure more than $10bn (£7.5bn) as the company prepares to abandon its long-standing non-profit status.
OpenAI is considering giving Altman a 7% stake as it raises money at a valuation of about $150 billion.
The move would make Altman’s stake worth about $10.5 billion. OpenAI, originally founded as a nonprofit in 2015 by Altman and other tech executives, including Elon Musk, aims to make its technology “open source.” However, with increasing commercial interest, especially from technology giants such as Microsoft, the company shifted toward a for-profit model, albeit still controlled by a non-profit parent.
As OpenAI seeks to raise significant funding to develop its AI systems, the company is considering becoming a public benefit corporation, which would allow it to be profitable while continuing to focus on societal benefits. Altman, who has already become a billionaire through investments in companies like Stripe and Reddit, will see his net worth increase significantly with this stake.
Elon Musk, who left OpenAI in 2018 after disagreements with Altman and other executives, has criticized the shift, saying in X: “You can’t turn a nonprofit into a for-profit. That’s illegal.”
The potential changes at OpenAI come amid leadership turmoil, with the resignations of several high-profile figures, including Mira Moratti, the company’s chief technology officer, and Ilya Sutskever, chief scientist and co-founder. In a letter to employees, Altman acknowledged the sudden nature of leadership changes, calling them “a normal part of companies, especially those that are growing quickly.”
OpenAI remains committed to its mission of building AI that benefits everyone, and despite the changes, the nonprofit arm of the organization will continue to exist.