OpenAI recently announced a significant restructuring to ensure that its non-profit entity retains ultimate control. This news drew widespread attention last week, and Japanese tech giant SoftBank, one of OpenAI's major investors, has publicly expressed support for the plan. SoftBank’s endorsement is particularly important as they had previously stated that their $3 billion investment in OpenAI was conditional on structural changes.
Back in March, OpenAI successfully raised a $4 billion funding round, with $3 billion coming from SoftBank. However, SoftBank had warned that if OpenAI did not complete the restructuring by the end of this year, they might reduce their investment to $2 billion. In response to pressure from various sectors, including civil leaders and former employees, OpenAI decided not to fully transition into a for-profit entity. Instead, they transformed their for-profit division into a public benefit corporation while retaining non-profit control over the company. This shift aims to balance profitability with social responsibility.
It is worth noting that OpenAI initially considered giving up control of its non-profit division in its initial restructuring plans, a decision that faced broad opposition both inside and outside the industry, including from OpenAI co-founder Elon Musk. In this new restructuring plan, although the non-profit division will continue to hold control of the company, it remains uncertain whether all of OpenAI’s investors fully support this plan.
During discussions about the restructuring plan, SoftBank’s CFO Yoshimitsu Gotoh expressed optimism regarding the direction of the restructuring during a Tuesday earnings briefing. However, he also mentioned that OpenAI faces challenges from multiple stakeholders, some of whom may influence the plan, making the process potentially complex.
Additionally, according to the Financial Times, another major OpenAI investor, Microsoft, has yet to clarify its stance on the restructuring plan and could become a key obstacle to its progress. Microsoft and OpenAI are renegotiating their cooperation terms, and their multi-billion-dollar partnership will also be affected by the restructuring process. When discussing this, Yoshimitsu Gotoh noted that their discussions are based on the assumption that the restructuring will proceed as planned, but the final outcome remains to be seen.