Sam Altman tells OpenAI staff he is not expected to receive a ‘giant stake’ in the company

During an all-hands meeting on Thursday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman denied that he was expected to receive a “giant stake” in the company, calling the information “simply false,” according to a person present.

Altman and Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar both said during the meeting, conducted by video, that investors had raised concerns that Altman did not own a stake in the high-value artificial intelligence company which he co-founded nearly nine years ago, said the person, who asked not to be named because the gathering was for employees only.

Regarding the possibility of getting an equity stake, Altman said: “There are no current plans here,” the person said.

OpenAI President Bret Taylor told CNBC in a statement that while the board had talked about the issue, no specific numbers were on the table.

“The board has had discussions about whether it would benefit the company and our mission for Sam to be compensated in equity, but no specific numbers were discussed nor decisions made.” , Taylor said.

Thursday night’s meeting followed the board’s decision to consider restructuring the company into a for-profit company, according to another person with knowledge of the matter. If the change occurs, the nonprofit segment would remain a separate entity, said the person, who asked not to be named because no plans have been finalized.

As directors consider the future of OpenAI, key executives continue to leave the company.

On Wednesday, three leaders announced their departure. Mira Murati, OpenAI’s chief technology officer, who briefly served as interim CEO, said she would leave after 6 1/2 years. Later that day, head of research Bob McGrew and Barret Zoph, vice president of research, announced they were leaving the company.

In an interview Thursday at Italian Tech Week, Altman said: “I think it will hopefully be a great transition for everyone involved and I hope OpenAI will be stronger for it, as we are for all our transitions. »

Altman said the departures were not related to a possible restructuring of the company, contrary to some media reports.

“Most of the things I saw were completely false,” Altman said at the event in Turin, Italy. “But we are thinking about it, our board has been, for almost a year independently, as we think about what it takes to take our next step. But I think it’s just about people being ready for new chapters in their lives and a new generation of leaders. »

Murati wrote in a note to the company that she is “stepping away because I want to create the time and space to do my own exploration.” She said her priority would be ensuring a “smooth transition”.

Before Thursday’s decisions, OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever and former security chief Jan Leike announced their departures in May. Co-founder John Schulman said last month he was leaving to join rival Anthropic.

OpenAI, which is backed by Microsoft, is currently leading a funding round that would value the company at more than $150 billion, people familiar with the matter told CNBC. Thrive Capital is leading the round and plans to invest $1 billion, and Tiger Global is also considering joining.

Although OpenAI has been in hypergrowth mode since ChatGPT launched in late 2022, it has simultaneously been plagued by controversies and executive departures, with some current and former employees concerned that the company is growing too quickly to operate successfully. security.

Altman was ousted in November, before being quickly reinstated. Nearly all OpenAI employees signed an open letter announcing they would leave in response to the board’s action. A few days later, Altman was back at the company and Murati moved from interim CEO to CTO role.

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