Have you ever wondered who owns OpenAI? You wouldn't be the first to ask that question, but it's surprisingly difficult to find an answer.
OpenAI started a widespread boom in artificial intelligence (AI) in November 2022. The release of the ChatGPT chatbot, based on a powerful large language model (LLM), set new standards for what AI could do. Before ChatGPT, many saw AI as a mysterious technology trick. After some hands-on experience with ChatGPT, skepticism has evolved into a mix of wonder, fear, and enthusiasm about a computer system's ability to mimic human intelligence in many ways.
Related AI tools like the DALL-E image creation system and the Sora video generator put more wind in OpenAI's sails. One year later, OpenAI partners such as Microsoft (MSFT -0.02%) and Nvidia (NVDA +1.04%) had added billions of dollars to their market caps, largely thanks to their involvement with the ChatGPT phenomenon.
However, OpenAI is not a publicly traded company. The driving force behind the AI frenzy that started in 2022 is a very private business managed as a "capped-profit" organization.
So, who owns OpenAI? Well, it's complicated. Let's figure it out together.
OpenAI's ambitious goals in AI research
OpenAI was founded in December 2015. It was a nonprofit company at first, aiming to "advance digital intelligence in the way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole, unconstrained by a need to generate financial return."
The absence of financial goals, such as creating value for shareholders, allowed OpenAI to pursue its world-changing goals without distractions.
The capped-profit structure remains in 2025. The company has updated its mission statement, now aimed at "ensuring that safe artificial general intelligence is developed and benefits all of humanity." In the same breath, the company also says that it might never make a profit -- and it is "under no obligation to do so."
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Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Anders Bylund has positions in Amazon and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, Salesforce, Shopify, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends Instacart and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
