This decision comes while important amounts had been promised subject to a change of model, and that several legal appeals remain in progress.
Openai announced on May 5, 2025, abandoning his project to become a for -profit business. The company will remain controlled by its founding non -profit entity, a decision taken after several months of criticism and pressures, in particular on the part of actors of civil society, regulators and former co -founders.
An unchanged hybrid structure
Founded in 2015, Openai was initially formed as a non -profit organization, with the objective of developing an artificial intelligence accessible and beneficial to humanity. In 2019, a hybrid structure was implemented: a commercial entity, limited to yields (Capped-Profit), was created to attract investments necessary for the continuation of research. This for -profit company remains under the control of the initial non -lucrative entity.
In a message addressed to the staff, Sam Altman said: “We made the decision to remain a non -profit company after listening to influential votes from civil society”, declaration published by Les Echos. The abandonment of the change of status also occurs following discussions with the offices of the Attorney General of Delaware and California. Bret Taylor, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Openai, said in a statement that this decision followed a constructive dialogue with “the offices of the Attorneurs General of California and Delaware”, quoted by Le Figaro.
Tensions between governance, financing and legal opposition
This legal transformation project had been envisaged in the context of a major fundraising. In April 2025, Openai brought together $ 40 billion from investors, including SoftBank. The latter had linked part of his contribution – up to $ 10 billion – to the implementation of the new status. In the absence of transformation, this contribution could be reduced to $ 20 billion, as the world indicated.
Openai’s governance had already been weakened at the end of 2023 by the temporary dismissal of Sam Altman, an episode which had revealed the internal tensions on the management of the project. Since then, the question of Microsoft’s real power, which holds 49% of the commercial structure, has remained unanswered, as well as the valuation of this participation as part of the non -profit model maintained.
In addition, Elon Musk, co -founder of Openai in 2015 and left in 2018, multiplied criticism against the evolution of the company. He believes that the original mission has been misguided. He has initiated several legal remedies and proposed the redemption of the non -lucrative part for $ 100 billion, an offer rejected by the company. A trial must be held in the fall to decide the dispute.
Maintaining a distinct model in the AI ecosystem
Openai’s decision to maintain its non -profit status distinguishes it from other players in the sector such as Google or Meta, whose developments in AI are of classic for -profit structures. In parallel, other companies like Anthropic or XAI, founded by Elon Musk, also adopt hybrid models or statutes of public interest.
OPENAI, however, put an end to the rule which capped the dividends at a hundred times the initial investment. This measure, confirmed in the official press release of the company, aims to partially meet the expectations of investors, while maintaining control by the non -profit mother structure.
