OpenAI is assembling a select group of experts to advise on philanthropic priorities as the company navigates its complex transition from a nonprofit to a for-profit structure.
Key Points:
- The commission will focus on understanding urgent problems nonprofits face today
- Members will be announced in April with findings due within 90 days
- The initiative comes as OpenAI faces a year-end deadline to complete its for-profit transition
- The nonprofit arm will retain significant ownership in the new public benefit corporation
The group will advise on how the nonprofit can best deploy what OpenAI describes as "potentially historic resources" once the company completes its transformation into a for-profit entity.
As OpenAI prepares to transition from a nonprofit corporation to a for-profit, the company says it's assembling experts to "help OpenAI's philanthropy understand the most urgent and intractable problems nonprofits face today." The commission will incorporate feedback from leaders in health, science, education, and public services, with particular attention to communities in California, where OpenAI is headquartered.
OpenAI must complete its for-profit transition by the end of 2025 to secure the full $40 billion funding led by SoftBank that it's currently finalizing. The company's restructuring has been closely watched since CEO Sam Altman's brief but dramatic ouster and reinstatement last year, which highlighted tensions inherent in its unusual corporate structure.
Under the proposed new organization, the nonprofit will own shares in the for-profit entity, similar to outside investors, and the for-profit will fund the nonprofit's charitable mission. "The PBC will run and control OpenAI's operations and business, while the nonprofit will hire a leadership team and staff to pursue charitable initiatives in sectors such as healthcare, education, and science," according to the company.
The commission's findings, due to OpenAI's board within 90 days of the April announcement, could significantly influence how the company balances its stated mission to ensure artificial general intelligence (AGI) "benefits all of humanity" with the financial imperatives of a company now valued at over $150 billion.
"The Board recognizes the importance of engaging with the philanthropic community and those closest to the work to help inform how OpenAI's philanthropy can best deploy its potentially historic resources," the company stated in its announcement. The guiding principle, they emphasized, is "ensuring that OpenAI's innovation is working for people—not the other way around."
For an AI company that initially began as a nonprofit in 2015 specifically to develop artificial general intelligence that benefits humanity, this commission represents more than a corporate formality. It's OpenAI's attempt to publicly demonstrate continued commitment to its founding principles even as it evolves into what OpenAI's leadership has described as "an enduring company."