OpenAI’s Nonprofit Parent Set to Own Staggering $100B+ Stake in ChatGPT Creator

Tech's quietest power move just dropped—and it's rewriting the AI ownership playbook.

Nonprofit Holds the Reins

OpenAI's parent organization maintains controlling interest despite the eye-watering valuation. That $100 billion-plus stake? Locked firmly in mission-driven hands. No shareholder revolts here—just pure, unadulterated influence over AI's trajectory.

ChatGPT's Meteoric Value Creation

The flagship product's explosion propelled valuation from curiosity to colossus. Every query, every integration, every enterprise contract—adding zeros to a stake that'd make venture capitalists weep. They built the engine; now they own the factory.

Balance Sheets Meet Best Intentions

Rare fusion of world-changing tech and ironclad governance. The structure prevents profit-seeking dilution—keeping the focus on beneficial AI, not bonus cycles. A refreshing twist in an industry where ethics often take a backseat to exit strategies.

Because nothing says 'committed to humanity' like controlling a nine-figure war chest—while Silicon Valley VCs scramble for scraps at the table they didn't build.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• OpenAI said its nonprofit parent will have an equity stake of more than $100 billion in the ChatGPT maker, making it "one of the most well-resourced philanthropic organizations in the world."
• OpenAI also signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with backer Microsoft to extend their partnership.
• Separately, Microsoft avoided a potentially massive antitrust fine from the European Union by striking a deal to unbundle its Teams communication platform from its popular office apps.

OpenAI said its nonprofit parent will have an equity stake exceeding $100 billion in the ChatGPT maker, making it "one of the most well-resourced philanthropic organizations in the world."

OpenAI, which said the "recapitalization would also enable us to raise the capital required to accomplish our mission," also said it and backer Microsoft (MSFT) had signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to extend their partnership, and were "actively working to finalize contractual terms in a definitive agreement."

OpenAI had initially announced plans last year to transform into a for-profit company, a condition for money it raised in funding rounds, including one where it raised $6.6 billion from investors including Microsoft and AI chip darling Nvidia (NVDA). Becoming a for-profit company would allow OpenAI to make financial returns for its shareholders and also go public, marking a departure from its original mission of building open-source technology that wouldn't be subject to commercial priorities.

Microsoft Agrees to Unbundle Teams in EU

Separately, Microsoft avoided a potentially massive antitrust fine from the European Union by striking a deal to unbundle its Teams communication platform from its popular office apps.

The European Commission, the EU's enforcement arm, said it has accepted the moves by Microsoft to untie Teams from its productivity applications Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, included in its Office 365 and Microsoft 365 suites for business customers. Microsft will now make these apps available to consumers without Teams at a lower price, allow customers tied to longer licenses to switch and let customers MOVE their data out of Teams to use competitors.

Microsoft shares, which entered Friday up by almost a fifth this year, are rising 1.4% in premarket trading.