OpenAI has decided to maintain its nonprofit structure, shelving plans to transition its for-profit subsidiary into an independent Public Benefit Corporation (PBC). This move comes after discussions with civic leaders and the Attorneys General of California and Delaware, as well as legal challenges from co-founder Elon Musk, who alleged the nonprofit had deviated from its founding principles.
CEO Sam Altman communicated the decision in a letter to employees, emphasizing OpenAI’s commitment to its original mission of developing artificial general intelligence (AGI) that benefits all of humanity. While the for-profit arm will still convert into a PBC, the nonprofit will retain significant equity and governance control, ensuring that the organization’s mission remains at the forefront.
Altman was quizzed by the media on whether this change in plans had anything to do with Elon Musk’s lawsuit. Altman’s reply on a call with the press was succinct. He said, “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.”
The company hopes the decision to retain nonprofit oversight will still allow for it to raise the substantial investment necessary for the development and maintenance of AI tools like ChatGPT—but still retain what is says is its ethical and mission-driven governance. But without that additional capital, Altman noted, “we currently cannot supply nearly as much AI as the world wants.”
With this new structure, OpenAI maintains that as the PBC grows, resources will also be available for the not for profit to support broad social benefits in areas such as healthcare, education, and scientific discovery.
