Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is seen through glass, during an event on the sidelines of the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris, France, on Feb. 11, 2025.
Aurelien Morissard | Via Reuters
OpenAI on Monday bowed to pressure from civic leaders and ex-employees, announcing its nonprofit would retain control of the company even as it restructures into a public benefit corporation.
In a zoom call with reporters on Monday, OpenAI board chairman Bret Taylor said they had had discussions with the attorneys general of California and Delaware before deciding on the change.
“The TLDR is that with the structure we’re contemplating, the not-for-profit will remain in control of OpenAI,” Taylor said. “We will be converting the limited liability company, that is a subsidiary of that nonprofit, to a public benefit corporation. By doing so, it will change the equity structure of that company so that employees, investors and the not-for-profit can own equity in that PBC.”
Taylor said they had commissioned outside financial advisors to advise OpenAI on the recapitalization and declined to share how much of a stake the nonprofit would have in the company.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said on the call that he was “very happy that the nonprofit and the PBC will have the same mission,” Altman said, mentioning that the board and stakeholders agreed with the decision.”
When asked whether the changes would affect Elon Musk’s ongoing legal battle against the company, Altman said, “We are obsessed with our mission and what it takes to fulfill that. You all are obsessed with Elon, that’s your job — like, more power to you. But we are here to think about our mission and figure out how to enable that. And that mission has not changed.”
This is breaking news. Check back for updates.
