The commercial arm of OpenAI is a private company and doesn’t disclose details about its ownership structure. However, based on investments that were reported on publicly, we do know several companies and investors that have a stake in OpenAI (or at least had a stake in the company at some point).
Here’s who owns OpenAI:
- OpenAI GP LLC (a manager entity wholly owned and controlled by the OpenAI Nonprofit)
- Microsoft (likely has the biggest stake among outside investors)
- NVIDIA
- SoftBank
- Thrive Capital
- Sequoia Capital
- Andreessen Horowitz
- Thrive
- K2 Global
- Founders Fund
- Peter Thiel
- Amazon AWS
- Infosys
- YC Research
Before we take a closer look at what we know about who owns OpenAI, let’s first take a look at a quick history of this important, yet often controversial, company.
OpenAI – A (very) brief history
OpenAI was initially founded in December of 2015 as a non-profit organization with the goal of researching AI (artificial intelligence) technology and advancing the technology in a way that would “benefit humanity as a whole”.
The initial OpenAI founders included Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever and Elon Musk, and the project had backing from venture capitalist Peter Thiel, as well as Amazon AWS, Infosys and YC Research. The initial backers of OpenAI provided the project $1 billion in funding.
In 2019, OpenAI launched OpenAI Global, LLC, a company with a unique capped profit structure, with the goal of raising additional capital. This was followed by a $1 billion investment from tech giant Microsoft.
In November of 2022, OpenAI publicly launched ChatGPT, an online chatbot powered by their GPT (generative pre-training transformer) technology. ChatGPT’s ability to produce answers in natural language and the broad range of queries it was capable of handling successfully made a large impact on the mainstream and resulted in AI surging to the forefront of tech-related discussions and investments.
Following the rapid success of ChatGPT, Microsoft invested an additional $10 billion into OpenAI in January of 2023.
In October of 2024, OpenAI closed a massive funding round in which it raised $6.6 billion at a valuation of $157 billion. According to reports, the funding round was led by Thrive Capital, and also included participation from Microsoft, NVIDIA, SoftBank and other major players.
Who owns OpenAI?
At the time of Microsoft’s $10 billion investment into OpenAI in 2023, it was widely reported that Microsoft had acquired a 49% stake in the for-profit arm of OpenAI. However, with OpenAI raising a $6.6 billion round in 2024, it’s possible that the company’s ownership structure has changed considerably.
The ownership structure of the for-profit OpenAI Global, LLC is not public information. Based on what we know about investments in the company, it’s very likely that Microsoft has the largest stake, and that other major stakeholders include Thrive Capital, Nvidia and SoftBank.
In addition, we also have to mention a $300 million funding round that OpenAI reportedly closed in April of 2023 at a valuation of between $27 and $29 billion. The venture capital firms that participated in this funding round – Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive, K2 Global and Founders Fund likely also have a significant stake in OpenAI’s for-profit arm.
We also shouldn’t forget about OpenAI’s earliest backers, which include Peter Thiel, Amazon AWS, Infosys and YC Research. However, OpenAI hasn’t disclosed how much each of these investors contributed, so it’s very difficult to speculate the size of their stake.
OpenAI structure
The OpenAI ownership structure is somewhat complicated, as the organization is trying to balance its initial mission as a non-profit developing AI to benefit humanity and the ability to raise capital.
Since investors are much more likely to provide capital if there is a chance of a return on their investment, OpenAI has established OpenAI Global LLC, a for-profit company with a unique capped profit structure.
If we take a look at the organizational structure chart on the OpenAI website, we can see that the OpenAI board of directors is at the top of the structure. Here is the current OpenAI board of directors:
- Bret Taylor (Chair) – Former CTO of Facebook, former chairman of Twitter board of director, former co-CEO of Salesforce
- Sam Altman – OpenAI co-founder and CEO, former Y Combinator president, co-founder of Tools for Humanity (Worldcoin)
- Adam D’Angelo – Co-founder and CEO of Quora, former CTO of Facebook
- Dr. Sue Desmond-Hellmann – Former CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, former UCSF Chancellor, oncologist
- Paul M. Nakasone – Retired U.S. Army gour-star general, former commander of United States Cyber Command, former director of the NSA
- Nicole Seligman – Former EVP and general counsel of Sony Corporation, former president of Sony Corporation of America, attorney
- Fidji Simo – CEO and Chair of Instacart, former Facebook executive
- Larry Summers – Former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, former president of Harvard University, former Chief Economist of the World Bank
- Zico Kolter – Computer science professor and Head of Machine Learning Department at Carnegie Mellon, Chief Expert at Bosch
The board of directors controls OpenAI, Inc., which is the non-profit organization at the heart of the OpenAI project.
OpenAI, Inc. wholly owns and controls OpenAI GP LLC, which is a manager entity that controls and governs OpenAI Global LLC, which is the for-profit company with a capped profit structure.
Various investors have a stake in the for-profit OpenAI Global LLC, most notably Microsoft. However, the exact stake Microsoft has in the company is not public knowledge at this time.
Notably, OpenAI founder and CEO founder Sam Altman has stated that he no longer has a financial interest in OpenAI.
How to invest in OpenAI?
There is no way to directly invest in OpenAI available to regular investors. So, if you’re wondering how to invest in OpenAI or buy ChatGPT stock, you’re out of luck. Still, there are indirect ways of getting investment exposure to OpenAI.
Most likely, the best way to get exposure is to invest in Microsoft, which has invested significant amounts into OpenAI and has a large stake in OpenAI’s for-profit arm.
If you want to bet on AI, you could also consider investing in NVIDIA, which stands to benefit significantly from the growth of demand for AI. NVIDIA’s hardware and software plays a crucial role in today’s AI industry.
There are also several ETFs (exchange-traded funds) that provide investors with diversified exposure to the artificial intelligence sector.
Examples of AI-focused ETFs include the Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF, iShares Robotics and Artificial Intelligence ETF, WisdomTree Artificial Intelligence UCITS ETF, and Xtrackers Artificial Intelligence and Big Data UCITS ETF.
However, it’s important to note that AI ETFs can differ significantly in how they define artificial intelligence and the companies they include in their portfolios. Unlike S&P 500 ETFs, which are designed to closely follow the S&P 500 index, the selection criteria and methodology for AI ETFs can vary greatly between products.
The bottom line
OpenAI has a complex structure, with a hybrid model that includes both non-profit and for-profit arms. The exact ownership structure of OpenAI’s for-profit arm is not public knowledge, although we know the companies and investors that most likely have a stake in the company due to reporting about OpenAI’s funding rounds.
If you’re interested in OpenAI but are also exploring opportunities in the crypto space, make sure to check out our list of the best AI crypto coins.
Source: https://coincodex.com/article/49953/who-owns-open-ai/