OpenAI is reportedly considering giving CEO Sam Altman a 7% equity stake as it restructures the artificial intelligence giant as a profitable entity — even as some top executives head for exits.
A 7% stake in Microsoft-backed OpenAI could soon be worth $10.5 billion to Altman, who had not previously taken an ownership position in the firm.
Bloomberg was the first to report the potential size of Altman’s stake, citing unnamed sources.
In a statement, OpenAI board chairman Bret Taylor said internal discussions were still ongoing.
“The board has had discussions about whether it would be beneficial to the company and our mission for Sam to be compensated in equity, but no specific figure has been discussed nor has a decision been made,” Taylor said.
OpenAI is currently pursuing a $6.5 billion funding round led by Thrive Capital that would value it at $150 billion.
OpenAI is planning to restructure as a for-profit corporation, which would mean the nonprofit board of directors that previously oversaw its operations would no longer be in control, according to multiple reports.
A for-profit corporation is an economic entity that considers social impact and profit when making decisions. Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI uses a similar structure.
OpenAI brass is still discussing the specifics of the restructuring, and a final deadline has yet to be determined, according to Bloomberg. It is also possible that the size of Altman’s equity stake may change or not materialize at all.
“We remain focused on building AI that benefits everyone and are working with our board to ensure we are best positioned to succeed in our mission. The non-profit organization is central to our mission and will continue to exist,” an OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement.
The restructuring is under consideration during a period of turmoil at OpenAI.
Mira Murati, the company’s chief technology officer, who had worked closely with Altman, abruptly announced her resignation on Wednesday, shortly before the first reports emerged of the firm’s potential for-profit move.
In a message to OpenAI staff shared on X, Murati said she was “leaving because I want to create the time and space to do my own exploration. Right now, my main focus is to do everything in my power to provide a smooth transition, maintaining the momentum we’ve built.”
Murat’s departure reportedly came as a surprise to OpenAI employees, with some sharing a “WTF” emoji in response to her post in an internal Slack channel, according to Bloomberg.
Altman later confirmed that two other OpenAI executives — chief research officer Bob McGrew and another senior researcher Barret Zoph — were also leaving.
“Mira, Bob and Barrett made these decisions independently of each other and amicably, but the timing of Mira’s decision was such that it made sense to now do this immediately so we can work on together for a smooth handover to the other. leadership generation,” Altman wrote in X.
Six current OpenAI executives will begin reporting to Altman directly upon their exits, the CEO added.
“Leadership changes are a natural part of companies, especially companies that grow so fast and are so demanding,” Altman added. “Of course I won’t pretend that it’s natural for this to be so unexpected, but we’re not a normal company.”
Greg Brockman, president and co-founder of OpenAI, said last month that he would be taking an extended leave of absence until the end of the year.
John Schulman, another co-founder, recently left for a gig at OpenAI rival Anthropic.
Elsewhere, co-founder Ilya Sutskever and researcher Jan Leike resigned in May after OpenAI disbanded its “Superalignment” team, which was responsible for ensuring the safe development of advanced AI.
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