Last week, information emerged that after the proposed restructuring of OpenAI and the legal transfer of the startup to a commercial footing, the head and founder Sam Altman will receive a large stake in the company in the form of remuneration for his work. At an OpenAI staff meeting on Thursday, Altman himself denied the rumors, as CNBC explains.
Image source: OpenAI
On the other hand, according to the source, during a video broadcast from a meeting of OpenAI employees, both CEO Sam Altman and CFO Sarah Friar spoke to the audience. Both said investors had expressed concern about Altman’s lack of ownership of shares in OpenAI, the company he and like-minded people founded nearly nine years ago. At the same time, Altman emphasized that all the rumors about OpenAI’s intentions to give him a large stake of shares have nothing to do with reality, and such plans simply do not exist at the moment.
OpenAI board chairman Bret Taylor explained in an interview with CNBC that while the board had discussed the possibility of rewarding Altman with shares of the company, no decisions had been made. Outside sources say a meeting of OpenAI employees was called on Thursday to discuss a possible restructuring scenario in which the company’s commercial division would dominate and the non-profit portion would remain, but without the same degree of influence.
Sam Altman stressed in an interview last week that the recent departure of three senior OpenAI executives, including CTO Mira Murati, had nothing to do with preparations for the restructuring and had been discussed for a year. The departed executives are simply preparing for the next stage of their careers, and OpenAI is set to take its next step in development.