Here’s the thing about asking investors for money: they want to see returns. OpenAI launched with a famously altruistic mission: to help humanity by developing artificial general intelligence. But along the way, it became one of the best-funded companies in Silicon Valley. Now, the tension between those two facts is coming to a head.
OpenAI’s “for-profit managed by a non-profit” structure puts it at a moneygrubbing disadvantage. So it made perfect sense that Altman told employees earlier this month that OpenAI would restructure as a for-profit company next year. This week, Bloomberg reported that the company is considering becoming a public benefit corporation and that investors are planning to give Altman a 7 percent stake.