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OpenAI is seeking a $150 billion valuation in its upcoming financing round, contingent on restructuring efforts that would eliminate investor profit caps. The AI leader's ability to attract new investment hinges on fundamental changes to its corporate structure, insiders revealed.
OpenAI's $6.5 Billion Funding Push Highlights Structural Shifts as It Seeks to Drive AGI Development
According to direct knowledge sources, OpenAI's forthcoming financing round is anticipated to be convertible notes. These sources have stated that the company's $150 billion valuation will be contingent upon its ability to alter its corporate structure and eliminate a profit limitation for investors.
The conditions of the $6.5 billion funding, which have not been disclosed, demonstrate the extent to which OpenAI, the most valuable AI startup in the world, has progressed from a research-based nonprofit organization. They also demonstrate the structural changes the company is prepared to implement to attract increasingly more investment to support its costly pursuit of artificial general intelligence (AGI), or AI that surpasses human intelligence.
The rapid growth of OpenAI's revenue has resulted in significant investor demand for the outsized funding round, which, according to sources, is expected to be finalized within the next two weeks.
Existing investors, including Microsoft, Khosla Ventures, and Thrive Capital, are anticipated to participate. Nvidia and Apple are among the new investors who intend to invest. Sequoia Capital is also in discussions about returning as a returning investor.
Sources who requested anonymity to discuss private matters informed Reuters that OpenAI would be required to renegotiate its valuation with investors at which their shares will be converted, likely at a lower number, if the restructuring is unsuccessful.
OpenAI declined to respond.
Removing the profit cap would necessitate the consent of OpenAI's nonprofit board, which comprises Chief Executive Sam Altman, entrepreneur Bret Taylor, and seven other members.
Sources also confirmed that the company has engaged in discussions with attorneys regarding converting its nonprofit structure to a for-profit benefit corporation, a practice that its competitors, including Anthropic and xAI, are implementing.
It is still being determined whether such fundamental corporate structural adjustments are feasible. Eliminating the profit quota, which restricted the potential returns of investors in OpenAI's for-profit subsidiary, would provide early investors with an even more significant advantage.
It could also raise questions about OpenAI's governance and departure from its nonprofit mission. OpenAI has said the cap was implemented to "incentivize them to research, develop, and deploy AGI in a way that balances commerciality with safety and sustainability, rather than focusing on pure profit-maximization."
OpenAI’s Shift From Nonprofit Roots to Commercial Powerhouse Attracts Over 200 Million Users
The San Francisco-based AI lab, established in 2015 as a nonprofit research project to develop AI for humanity's benefit, is currently controlled by a nonprofit parent organization.
It has expedited its commercialization endeavors by offering subscription-based services such as ChatGPTto consumers and enterprises, which have since garnered more than 200 million users.
Existing investors are subject to a predetermined return on investment quota, and any surplus returns are to be allocated to the nonprofit.
In OpenAI's initial financing round, investors received returns that were limited to 100 times their investment. In a 2019 blog post detailing the structure, the company stated, "We anticipate that this multiple will decrease in future rounds."
In recent years, OpenAI has raised over $10 billion using this model, with the preponderance of the funding coming from Microsoft. It was last valued at $80 billion in February as part of a tender offer agreement in which the company sold its existing shares, with Thrive Capital leading the charge.
