Artificial intelligence (AI) startup OpenAI recently said it needs to raise more funds than expected to achieve its goals and has laid out plans to transition to a for-profit structure. OpenAI is a non-profit organization that declares its mission to "build safe and beneficial general artificial intelligence for the benefit of mankind."
But the company has now moved to a hybrid "profit cap" structure, with for-profit subsidiaries controlled by its nonprofit arm, to raise funds to support its work.
"The hundreds of billions of dollars that major companies are now investing in AI development speak volumes about what it will take for OpenAI to continue pursuing this mission," OpenAI said in a blog post. The company added that this means it will need to "raise more capital than we ever imagined."
The ChatGPT maker said it plans to reorganize into a public benefit corporation (PBC) with common stock. PBC will operate and control OpenAI’s operations, while its nonprofit arm will hire a leadership team and staff “to conduct philanthropic activities.”
OpenAI said the new company structure will "enable each department to better do what they do best."