The founder of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI is to receive more than $10bn (£7.5bn) as the artificial intelligence (AI) company abandons its long-held not-for-profit status.
OpenAI is considering granting Sam Altman a 7pc stake in the company, which is currently raising funds at a valuation of around $150bn.
The valuation would make Mr Altman’s potential stake worth $10.5bn. It comes after a leadership exodus at the company with chief technology officer Mira Murati among those announcing their departure.
OpenAI was founded in 2015 by technology executives including Elon Musk as a non-profit that planned to make its technology “open source”, or freely available. Mr Altman has also not taken a direct stake in the company, saying he is only paid a modest salary that allows him to qualify for health insurance.
However, the growing capabilities of AI systems and commercial interest from tech giants including Microsoft means it has watered down those promises.
OpenAI no longer open-sources its technology and is now run as a for-profit entity that is controlled by a not-for-profit parent.
However, the company is now considering ending that status as it seeks to raise huge amounts of funding needed to train advanced AI systems. One possible option is becoming a public benefit corporation, which are allowed to make profits while being structured to help wider society.
As part of that OpenAI is considering granting Mr Altman the 7pc stake, according to Bloomberg. Mr Altman is already a billionaire through investments in companies such as Stripe and Reddit but the grant would multiply his net worth several times over.
Mr Musk, who quit OpenAI in 2018 amid a row with executives including Mr Altman, wrote on X: “You can’t just convert a non-profit into a for-profit. That is illegal.” He added: “Sam Altman is Little Finger,” a reference to the Machiavellian character in the TV series Game of Thrones.
Mr Altman was dramatically fired and re-hired over the course of five days last year when OpenAI’s board accused him of misleading them.
A subsequent independent review of the incident cleared Mr Altman of any wrongdoing and he was later restored to the board.
Ms Murati, who had been a key player in developing ChatGPT, was briefly appointed chief executive after Mr Altman was sacked. In a note announcing her departure she said that she was “stepping away because I want to create the time and space to do my own exploration”, and said resigning was a “difficult decision”.
Bob McGrew, the company’s chief research officer, and Barret Zoph, the vice-president of research, also announced their resignations.
OpenAI has lost a string of senior executives in recent months, including Ilya Sutskever, its chief scientist and co-founder.
In a message to staff, Mr Altman wrote: “Leadership changes are a natural part of companies, especially companies that grow so quickly and are so demanding. I obviously won’t pretend it’s natural for this one to be so abrupt, but we are not a normal company.”
OpenAI said: “We remain focused on building AI that benefits everyone, and we’re working with our board to ensure that we’re best positioned to succeed in our mission. The nonprofit is core to our mission and will continue to exist.”
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