ChatGPT maker OpenAI forced to reverse restructure
OpenAI has announced a reversal in its ongoing corporate restructuring, reaffirming that its non-profit board will retain control over the for-profit arm responsible for developing ChatGPT and other AI technologies. The decision marks a significant change from earlier plans that would have granted more power to its commercial operations. The company was launched nearly 10 years ago by Sam Altman, Elon Musk and others as a non-profit research lab focused on creating artificial general intelligence to benefit humanity. Since then, OpenAI has grown rapidly, with ChatGPT now reaching 400m weekly users and the company valued at around $300bn, according to investor Andreessen Horowitz.
OpenAI’s shift toward a new structure ran into trouble, most notably a lawsuit from Musk. He claims the company broke its original promises, which convinced him to support it in the first place, whilst OpenAI claims Musk is embittered by a rival’s success after the tech tycoon launched his own AI company, xAI, and bought social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Read more about it here.
OpenAI's Mission and Vision
In a letter to employees, Altman wrote: “OpenAI is not a normal company and never will be. Our mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.” Altman reflects on the early days of OpenAI, stating that they did not initially contemplate products or a business model. However, they now see a way for artificial general intelligence to empower everyone as the most capable tool in human history.
OpenAI believes in the path of democratic AI, aiming to put incredible tools in the hands of everyone. Read more about it here.
The news from OpenAI comes just two months after the Competitions and Marketing Authority decided not to launch an investigation into whether Microsoft is exerting too much influence at OpenAI. A Musk consortium, which included xAI and several private equity firms, also recently had a $97.4bn bid rejected to buy OpenAI’s entire assets. Altman responded humorously to this by posting on X with the line: “No thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.” Read more about it here.
OpenAI's commitment to ensuring that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity remains strong, despite the challenges faced during the restructuring process. The company continues to focus on its mission of democratizing AI and providing powerful tools for everyone to use.
