OpenAI had also outlined its plans in December to switch to a for-profit arm into a public benefit corporation, which marks a structure designed to balance shareholder returns with social goals, differing from a nonprofit that is mostly focused on the positive impact on the public good. This proposal, the parents of a nonprofit would also have been shareholders in the PBC, yet it would transfer control over the startup.
It is also worth mentioning that on Monday, OpenAI said that the nonprofit parent would still continue to take control over PBC and become a big shareholder in it. The company will also push ahead with its plans to change the nonprofit and how it would balance profit-making with its mission for developing AI.
Bret Taylor, the chairman of OpenAI’s board, wrote in a blog post that “We made the decision for the nonprofit to stay in control after hearing from civic leaders and having discussions with the offices of the Attorneys General of California and Delaware.".
Altman said that this move can be considered a compromise “that (works) well enough for investors that they're happy to continue to fund us to a degree we think we will need.”, also mentioning that OpenAI would be working with major backer Microsoft for the finalization of the updated plan.
Page Headley, OpenAI’s former policy and ethics adviser and lead organizer of the group Not for Private Gain, said that “We're glad that OpenAI is listening to concerns from civil society leaders ... but crucial questions remain”.
He also added, “Will OpenAI's commercial goals continue to be legally subordinate to its charitable mission? Who will own the technology that OpenAI develops? The 2019 restructuring announcement made the primacy of the mission very clear, but so far, these statements have not.”
It is also worth mentioning that the announcement came as a response to the tensions between OpenAI and co-founder Elon Musk, trying to block OpenAI’s transition away from nonprofit control, with a jury hearing scheduled for March 2026, reported Reuters.
Musk’s lawyers also added that it no plan to drop the lawsuit against OpenAI. “The announcement obscures critical details about the supposed 'non-profit control' arrangement, and particularly the sharply reduced ownership stake the non-profit will receive in Altman’s for-profit enterprise, where the non-profit currently holds majority equity”.
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