According to a new report by The Information, Sam Altman is considering making OpenAI a for-profit company that the current non-profit board wouldn’t control. One option being considered is making OpenAI a for-profit benefit corporation, also known as a B-Corp.
As a B-Corp, OpenAI wouldn’t only have to consider profits but also its impact on society and the environment, and it’d have to balance the interests of shareholders with the interests of its employees, customers, community, and the environment. It would be legally required to make these considerations should it choose this route.
If the company eventually became a for-profit, this could open up the way to an initial public offering where the company gives the public a chance to own its shares. This would be a good way for the company to gain further investment, and given the hype around ChatGPT, it would likely do very well from an IPO.
As a public company, however, it would be more beholden to shareholders, which could potentially mean more restrictions on free services in a bid to encourage users to pay more. At this point, the whole IPO is just speculation, but the decision to become a for-profit business would make it a possibility.
Commenting on The Information’s report to Reuters, OpenAI said:
“We remain focused on building AI that benefits everyone. The nonprofit is core to our mission and will continue to exist.”
This quote suggests we could see a similar setup that Mozilla has where it has its for-profit arm and its non-profit arm. OpenAI may keep research within its non-profit business and make things like ChatGPT and its APIs a part of its for-profit business to help raise revenues.
OpenAI, despite its name, is not very transparent about its language models – this is a bit of an attitude change compared with what the company initially had planned. There have also been disputes with the former board and Altman about the direction of the company. Becoming a for-profit could help throw off some people’s notions of what OpenAI should be and allow it to become what Sam Altman wants it to be.
Source: The Information and Reuters - Image via Depositphotos.com
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