Official statements or interviews with OpenAI executives

OpenAI Plans 2025 Transition to Public Benefit Corporation, Citing Need for More Capital

Dec 27, 2024, 05:04 PM

OpenAI, the San Francisco-based artificial intelligence company, announced plans to restructure its corporate organization by transforming its existing for-profit arm into a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) with ordinary shares of stock. This move, set to occur in 2025, aims to enable the company to raise more capital than it had previously imagined to support its mission of ensuring that artificial general intelligence (AGI) benefits all of humanity. OpenAI acknowledged that it "needs more capital than we’d imagined" and believes that the PBC structure will balance profit with public benefit, making it easier to attract investment while maintaining its commitment to its mission. The nonprofit parent will continue to exist and retain shares in the new PBC. OpenAI's board of directors is evaluating this plan to equip each arm of the organization to fulfill its role effectively and to remove restrictions imposed by the current nonprofit structure.