OpenAI’s corporate restructuring has been finalized. LASST, in partnership with Encode AI and former OpenAI staffer, Page Hedley, released our detailed response.
The proposal
When OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit, its stated mission was to ensure that artificial intelligence “benefits all of humanity.”
In 2019, OpenAI created a for-profit LLC company to fund its research and development. The nonprofit entity retained control and oversight of this new structure to ensure the mission remained paramount.
Last December, OpenAI proposed converting that LLC into a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), of which the nonprofit would be a minority shareholder and over which the nonprofit would have no direct control. Unlike a traditional nonprofit, a PBC must balance its public benefit mission with fiduciary duties to shareholders, meaning there would be less oversight by the charitable entity and more focus on managing competing interests and profits.
We expressed our concerns about the proposed restructuring in a series of open letters available at notforprivategain.org and in direct advocacy with the offices of the Attorneys General.
The approved restructure
The final restructuring plan addresses many of our concerns, though not all. Our comparison of the proposed and approved structures, including where progress has been made and where gaps remain, can be found in our response.
Why this matters
The restructure of OpenAI is not a niche corporate issue. On the contrary, it strikes to the very heart of how artificial general intelligence (AGI) is being developed and implemented. If achieved, AGI could transform every sector of society, from economics and defense to law and ethics. That means the institutions that control or influence AGI development could hold unprecedented power. So, the question isn’t just whether we can build AGI safely, but also, who decides what “safe” means, and who benefits from it?
LASST will remain watchful as OpenAI implements the restructure and operates as a PBC with nonprofit oversight.