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May 7, 2025
The AI developer OpenAI, known for its chatbot ChatGPT, has temporarily halted its plans to restructure into a for-profit company. This decision follows discussions with the Attorneys General of California and Delaware, who expressed concerns about the original plan. OpenAI announced that the non-profit organization will retain control. However, this move raises questions about the financing of its ambitious AI projects.
In April, OpenAI completed a financing round of $40 billion. A significant portion of this sum, allegedly half, was contingent on OpenAI completing the transformation into a for-profit company by the end of the year. This investor, the Japanese Softbank Group, is now likely facing a difficult decision.
Microsoft, a major investor in OpenAI with a commitment of nearly $14 billion, has also not yet agreed to the new plan. Reports indicate that Microsoft is negotiating with OpenAI to ensure the security of its investments.
Elon Musk, co-founder of OpenAI, who has been critical of the conversion plans for months and even attempted to challenge them in court, sees the reversal as merely a "transparent evasion tactic." In his view, non-profit assets will continue to be transferred to private investors. The legal dispute is therefore likely to continue.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman defended the decision in a letter to employees. He emphasized that OpenAI is not an ordinary company and never will be. The goal remains the development of "Artificial General Intelligence" (AGI) for the benefit of humanity. The enormous costs for training and providing the technology – "hundreds of billions of US dollars" – had made the need for restructuring clear. Altman argued that the current structure limits the provision of AI services to the required extent. In the future, costs could even reach "trillions of US dollars," requiring the "largest and most effective non-profit organization in history."
Altman had been working on the restructuring for months to enable investors to achieve a long-term return, which is only possible to a limited extent in the non-profit model. Although the non-profit organization retains control, the structure is still to be revised. The plan was to convert to a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), a model also used by other AI companies. The non-profit organization was not only to retain control but also become a significant shareholder. OpenAI intends to announce details of the new plan after further discussions.
OpenAI's reversal raises numerous questions. How will the development of AGI be financed? How will investors react to the new situation? And how will the legal dispute with Elon Musk continue? The future of OpenAI remains uncertain for the time being.
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