OpenAI is entertaining the possibility of moving away from its highly regarded not-for-profit business model. A source close to the matter informed CNBC that OpenAI is actively considering a for-profit restructuring. The company still plans to run its not-for-profit segment in a separate vein, said the source.
The source added that a for-profit model would create a simpler structure for future investors and aid OpenAI employees to “realize liquidity.” These developments acquire a new dimension as OpenAI CTO Mira Murati resigns amidst these structural changes. On Wednesday, she announced her departure from OpenAI after six years and a half at the AI company.
I shared the following note with the OpenAI team today. pic.twitter.com/nsZ4khI06P
— Mira Murati (@miramurati) September 25, 2024
OpenAI also lost research chief Bob McGrew and research vice president Barret Zoph within hours of Murata’s resignation. CEO Sam Altman took to X to share an internal memo with details on each key player’s departure from the OpenAI ecosystem. OpenAI has steadily lost crucial talent in 2024, triggered by former co-founder Ilya Sutskever and former safety head Jan Leike’s departure in May. In August, John Schulman, another co-founder of OpenAI, left the not-for-profit AI giant to join forces with rival Anthropic.
i just posted this note to openai:
Hi All–
Mira has been instrumental to OpenAI’s progress and growth the last 6.5 years; she has been a hugely significant factor in our development from an unknown research lab to an important company.
When Mira informed me this morning that…
— Sam Altman (@sama) September 26, 2024
Despite these internal fractures, OpenAI continues to pursue a fresh funding round led by Thrive Capital, who are locked in to invest $1 billion. Fellow tech titans like Microsoft, Nvidia, and Apple are also in talks to contribute to OpenAI’s fund bucket.
