OpenAI in talks to grant Sam Altman a 7% stake worth $10.5 billion as it transitions to a for-profit model

Just a day after former CTO Mira Murati left the company, OpenAI is reportedly in talks to grant co-founder and CEO Sam Altman a 7% equity stake as it considers a shift to become a for-profit business. This would be a notable change, marking the first time Altman would hold ownership in the AI startup.

Bloomberg reports that OpenAI is also exploring the idea of transitioning into a public benefit corporation, which means balancing profit-making with a mission to benefit society. The timeline for this potential shift is still undecided, according to people familiar with the matter.

“OpenAI is discussing giving Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman a 7% equity stake in the company and restructuring to become a for-profit business, people familiar with the matter said, a major shift that would mark the first time Altman is granted ownership in the artificial intelligence startup,” Bloomberg reported.

This news follows Bloomberg’s earlier report, just two weeks ago, that OpenAI is working on securing a new $6.5 billion funding round, pushing its valuation to $150 billion. This is a significant leap from the $86 billion valuation earlier this year, which could mean Altman’s potential 7% stake might be valued at $10.5 billion.

This development contrasts sharply with Altman’s comments from May during an appearance on the All-In Podcast. At the time, he stated, “It’s hard for people to understand, but I don’t really need more money… If I said I’m aiming to make a trillion dollars with OpenAI, it might ease some of the conspiracy theories.”

Sam Altman will give himself 7% of Open AI which at its current valuation of $150B would be $10.5B in shares

Sam Altman on taking shares in OpenAI just 4 months ago: pic.twitter.com/8tbhCHY2AC

“It's so deeply unimaginable to people to say i don’t really need more money… If I…

— @levelsio (@levelsio) September 26, 2024

Meanwhile, OpenAI’s Chief Technology Officer, Mira Murati, is the latest in a series of notable exits from the company. Earlier this year, Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI’s chief scientist, stepped down in May. Co-founder Greg Brockman announced a leave of absence in August, and researcher John Schulman joined competitor Anthropic. With these departures, only two original members remain: Altman and Wojciech Zaremba.

The exit of several OpenAI founders hasn’t gone unnoticed, with some X users taking jabs at the company. Yuchen Jin, co-founder and CTO of Hyperbolic Labs, posted a photo highlighting the shift—from four co-founders at the start to just Sam Altman remaining.

How it started vs how it’s goin. https://t.co/Cyn9lS4QAi pic.twitter.com/d4v1nMgQYs

— Yuchen Jin (@Yuchenj_UW) September 25, 2024

Founded in 2015 by Sam Altman and Elon Musk, OpenAI began as a nonprofit research organization dedicated to advancing safe and beneficial artificial general intelligence (AGI). However, in 2020, it transitioned into a commercial entity, marking a pivotal change in its path.