OpenAI has been trying to switch from a nonprofit business model to a for-profit corporation for a while now, drawing intense criticism along the way. That’s no longer happening now, thanks to the latest development coming from Sam Altman & Co. But because OpenAI wants to develop AGI, and because people use so much ChatGPT AI that OpenAI can’t keep up, the company is switching to a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) structure that will be under the full control of the nonprofit entity.
Obviously, they’re also doing it because this structure will allow better compensation for employees who want equity and the growing list of investors who are pouring billions into OpenAI and will want to make money off of ChatGPT in the long run.
OpenAI announced the change in a blog post that contains a short message from Bret Taylor, Chair of the OpenAI Board of Directors, and a longer letter from Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO.
“We made the decision for the nonprofit to retain control of OpenAI after hearing from civic leaders and engaging in constructive dialogue with the offices of the Attorney General of Delaware and the Attorney General of California,” Taylor said in his remarks.
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“We thank both offices and we look forward to continuing these important conversations to make sure OpenAI can continue to effectively pursue its mission of ensuring AGI benefits all of humanity. Sam wrote the letter below to our employees and stakeholders about why we are so excited for this new direction.”
Altman further expanded on OpenAI’s structure change, explaining that the company still wants to “ensure that artificial general intelligence (AGI) benefits all of humanity.” That’s the goal, but getting there will require a lot of resources—the kind the original OpenAI team didn’t imagine when they began building AI about a decade ago.
Getting to AGI and delivering better ChatGPT products will eventually require trillions of dollars. Altman said people are using ChatGPT for a lot right now, but OpenAI can’t meet all the demand, which is why there are caps on usage:
