Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, made it clear in a meeting on Thursday that he has no plans to receive a ‘giant equity stake’ in the company. This was confirmed by a person in attendance who said that Altman informed everyone that such statements were false.
The video meeting also included the company’s finance chief, Sarah Friar, who said investors have raised concerns about Altman not having equity in the high-valued AI company that’s ready to soar to success in the coming years. However, according to the source, both were aware of this, but at the moment, no specific equity figures have been discussed.
OpenAI Chairman Bret Taylor told reporters, “The board has had discussions about whether it would be beneficial to the company and our mission to have Sam be compensated with equity, but no specific figures have been discussed nor have any decisions been made.”
In fact, after the meeting, the board decided to restructure the company to a for-profit business. Should the change occur, the nonprofit segment would remain as a separate entity; however, these ideas still seem to be finalized, according to the informant.
It is important to consider the recent changes in the company as well, with three executives announcing their sudden departure. OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mura Maruti, who briefly served as interim CEO, and research chief Bob McGrew and Barret Zoph, a research VP, left the company.
Altman clarified that these departures were not related to the company’s restructuring plans. But there is still time to evaluate how deeply these decisions will impact the other employees and the fast-growing tech company.
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