Who Owns ChatGPT?

However, the earliest version of the technology underpinning it, GPT-1 (an acronym for generative pre-trained transformer), was introduced in June 2018 and has evolved and improved over the years. OpenAI has also developed other generative AI products, but the company is best known for ChatGPT.

Who is the owner of ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is owned by OpenAI, which has a complicated organizational structure. The start-up was founded as a nonprofit but discovered the model was unsustainable for funding its research. In 2019, it created OpenAI LP, a "capped-profit" company it described as a hybrid between a for-profit and nonprofit company.

At the time, the company also said that running large-scale AI systems required significant computational power, and it realized it needed "billions of dollars to invest in the upcoming years into large-scale cloud comput[ing], attracting and retaining talented people, and building AI supercomputers."

That was the same year Microsoft (MSFT -0.02%) first invested in the company. Microsoft has been its primary benefactor since then, investing an estimated $13 billion in OpenAI, with a percentage of its investment coming in the form of computing power from its Azure cloud computing service.

However, the relationship between Microsoft and OpenAI is also complicated. In a statement in December 2023, Microsoft said it doesn't own any portion of OpenAI and is just entitled to a share of profits.

In a December 2024 web post, OpenAI said it's evaluating its corporate structure to ensure AGI benefits humanity. It said it would continue to operate as a hybrid between a nonprofit and a for-profit, though it aims for the nonprofit part to be sustainable.

It seeks to change the existing for-profit into a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) with ordinary shares of stock. The nonprofit would then own shares in the PBC.

As of October 2024, OpenAI was valued at $157 billion. It raised $6.6 billion in a funding round that doubled its valuation in just nine months.

It's received funding from venture capital (VC) firms, including Thrive Capital, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and K2 Global, as well as Microsoft, Nvidia (NVDA +1.04%), SoftBank (OTC:SFTB.Y), and others. Still, OpenAI's complete ownership structure has not been shared publicly.

Who are the largest shareholders?

1. Microsoft

Microsoft may claim it doesn't own a stake in OpenAI, but it clearly has a close relationship with the start-up and is effectively its largest shareholder. It's the only individual company or investor specifically identified in OpenAI's corporate structure.

Microsoft first invested in OpenAI in 2019 and is estimated to have invested at least $13 billion in OpenAI so far. In early 2023, Microsoft invested $10 billion in the company, giving the start-up a valuation of $29 billion. According to reports, Microsoft would get a 75% share of profits until it recoups the $10 billion it invested. From that point, Microsoft would get a 49% share of the company's profits until it reaches its cap.

12. SoftBank

The famed tech investment firm run by Masayoshi Son invested $500 million in the September 2024 funding round. SoftBank followed that up with a tender offer of $1.5 billion, offering to buy that amount from OpenAI employees who wanted to sell their shares.

SoftBank figures to be an OpenAI investor since it's the majority shareholder of Arm Holdings (ARM +0.54%), a semiconductor company with a significant stake in AI, and it's a prolific investor in tech start-ups.

13. Ark Invest

Ark Invest, the high-profile tech-focused investment manager run by Cathie Wood, is best known for investing in publicly traded companies. However, it also runs a venture fund, Ark Venture, which invested $250 million in OpenAI in the September 2024 funding round. Given its focus on disruptive companies, it's unsurprising that Ark Invest would invest in OpenAI.

Who is on the board of directors?

As of Jan. 26, 2025, the OpenAI board had 10 members.

1. Bret Taylor

Bret Taylor, former co-CEO of Salesforce (CRM -0.60%), is the chair of the OpenAI board. Taylor was named chair in an upheaval that took place after the previous board briefly ousted Sam Altman as CEO of OpenAI in November 2023.

2. Larry Summers

Larry Summers, the former Treasury secretary and former president of Harvard University, joined OpenAI's board at the same time as Taylor after the kerfuffle over Altman's temporary departure.

3. Adam D'Angelo

D'Angelo joined the OpenAI board in 2018. He was an advisor and investor in Instagram before it was acquired by Meta Platforms in 2012. He is the only member of the board of directors to remain from before Altman was voted out. D'Angelo was one of the members who voted to oust Altman.

4. Sue Desmond-Hellmann

Sue Desmond-Hellmann joined the board in March of 2024. She was formerly CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and a physician serving on the boards of Pfizer (PFE -0.20%) and the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

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