On September 26, during a company-wide meeting, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman refuted claims that he would receive a significant equity stake in the company, labeling the information as "not factual." Additionally, CFO Sarah Friar expressed concerns from investors over Altman's lack of company shares. Altman clarified that there are no current plans to allocate him equity.
Reports from various media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, suggested that OpenAI is planning a major restructuring, transitioning to a for-profit enterprise while retaining a nonprofit entity. This could potentially grant Altman a 7% stake, significantly increasing his net worth to $10 billion.
OpenAI Chairman Bret Taylor confirmed in an interview with CNBC that the board has discussed compensating Altman with shares but has not delved into specific details or made any decisions.
As the board deliberates on OpenAI's future, several key executives have tendered their resignations. CTO Mira Murati, Head of Research Bob McGrew, and VP of Research Barret Zoph announced their departures on September 25. Altman mentioned in an interview that these resignations are unrelated to the company's potential restructuring and are simply a part of personal new chapters for the executives.
Murati shared in a company memo that her departure is driven by a desire to explore personal ventures and ensure a "smooth transition."
Notably, in November of last year, Altman was briefly ousted from his role but returned quickly after nearly all OpenAI employees threatened resignation. Murati, who served as interim CEO, also resumed her CTO position. Co-founder Ilya Sutskever and former safety head Jan Leike announced their departures in May, while co-founder John Schulman left last month to join competitor Anthropic.
Despite frequent executive turnovers, OpenAI continues to grow robustly. Currently, the company is seeking new funding, potentially raising its valuation to over $150 billion. Sources familiar with the matter informed CNBC that Thrive Capital is leading this funding round with a $1 billion investment, joined by Tiger Global. Since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, OpenAI's growth has been rapid, fueling both admiration and concern among current and former employees about the company's ability to maintain safe operations.
