OpenAI CEO Sam Altman flatly denied that he would take a major equity stake in the billion-dollar startup as part of a corporate restructuring, according to multiple reports.
Altman, 39, responded hours after a Bloomberg report on Thursday claimed OpenAI’s board was discussing giving him a 7% stake as part of the pioneering AI company’s pivot to a for-profit entity.
Altman, who co-founded the firm, called the report that he could get such a large share “ridiculous” during a plenary meeting with OpenAI employees in Italy, The Information reported.
The OpenAI chief reportedly added that investors were pushing for him to take equity to ensure his interests remain aligned with the firm.
OpenAI Chairman Bret Taylor also disputed the report in an earlier statement, noting that the board had “discussions about whether it would be beneficial to the company and our mission for Sam to be compensated in equity, but no specific figure it was not even discussed, was any decision made”.
OpenAI confirmed on Wednesday that it was planning to restructure as a for-profit corporation, which would mean that the nonprofit board of directors that has long overseen its operations will no longer be in control.
Plans have yet to be finalized, and OpenAI insisted that the non-profit “is central to our mission and will continue to exist.”
OpenAI was originally created as a non-profit organization in 2015 with the goal of creating safe general artificial intelligence – a term that refers to AI with human-level or higher cognitive abilities.
Meanwhile, the Microsoft-backed firm’s leadership remains in turmoil. Three executives, including chief technology officer Mira Murati, announced their resignations this week, just as reports of a possible restructuring emerged.
During Thursday’s meeting, Altman was reportedly adamant that the sudden departures were unrelated to the board’s deliberations.
“Most of the things I saw were also completely wrong,” Altman said, according to CNBC. “But we’ve been thinking about it, our board has, for almost a year independently, while we think about what it takes to get to our next phase.”
“But I think it’s just about people who are ready for new chapters in their lives and a new generation of leadership,” Altman added.
Murati, who had worked closely with Altman, said in a message to OpenAI staff that she was “leaving because I want to create the time and space to do my own exploration. Right now, my main focus is to do everything in my power to ensure a smooth transition while maintaining the momentum we’ve built.”
Chief research officer Bob McGrew and principal researcher Barret Zoph also left in what has been a mass exodus of OpenAI executives since the start of the year.
Greg Brockman, president and co-founder of OpenAI, said last month that he would be taking an extended leave of absence until the end of the year. John Schulman, another co-founder, left for a job at OpenAI rival Anthropic.
In May, co-founder Ilya Sutskever and researcher Jan Leike after OpenAI disbanded its “Superalignment” team, which was responsible for overseeing the safe development of advanced AI.
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