Proposed OpenAI restructuring would put 7% stake in Sam Altman’s hands

Bloomberg was among the media that today disseminated information about the nature of the upcoming restructuring of the OpenAI startup, which in a short time has become one of the leaders in the artificial intelligence systems market. Now the company is managed by a non-profit organization, but investors are not happy with this, and therefore the proposed restructuring will not only put OpenAI on a commercial footing, but will also allow head Sam Altman to receive a 7% stake.

Image source: OpenAI

The timing of the implementation of the reforms has not yet been specified, nor is the implementation of the specified plan itself guaranteed, but the OpenAI charter must change in such a way that obtaining material benefits will accompany the mission of “helping society using artificial intelligence systems.” Official representatives of OpenAI responded to Bloomberg’s request that the non-profit nature of its activities is the basis of the company’s mission and will be preserved.

OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, who briefly became CEO during the startup’s leadership shakeup last year, yesterday announced her intentions to leave the company’s leadership. The events of last fall led to the exodus from OpenAI of many of the executives who stood at the origins of the company, and now Mira Murati has joined their ranks. On social network X, she explained that she would like to do her own research in the field of artificial intelligence. Current CEO Sam Altman expressed gratitude to his former colleague for her contributions to the development of OpenAI.

Before Murati leaves OpenAI leadership, she needs to find a replacement, and therefore the timing of these personnel changes has not yet been confirmed. She is determined to ensure a smooth transition of her responsibilities so as not to slow down the company’s business development. She spent six and a half years of her career working at OpenAI.

If we talk about Altman, in his interviews he previously spoke out in favor of restructuring OpenAI, which would allow him to receive a stake in a commercial structure. According to him, this event would simply help get rid of annoying questions about such a restructuring.

In fact, only two of the OpenAI founding team will remain in the company after the departure of Mira Murati: Sam Altman and Wojciech Zaremba. At the same time, OpenAI’s staff has more than doubled to 1,700 people since the end of last year. Murati won’t be the only executive leaving OpenAI in the near future. It has been announced that Chief Research Officer Bob McGrew will step down from his position, as will Vice President of Research Barret Zoph. The latter only noted that the decision to leave was difficult for him, and he would look for new opportunities outside the company.

Along the way, Altman transferred six OpenAI executives at various levels to his direct subordination, including head of information security Matt Knight. A general meeting of OpenAI employees is due to take place today, at which structural and personnel changes will be discussed. Altman explained the suddenness of the personnel decisions by saying that “we (at OpenAI) are not a normal company.”