OpenAI has pivoted from its original restructuring strategy, announcing that its nonprofit arm will retain ultimate control over the company while its for-profit division transforms into a public benefit corporation (PBC). This significant shift comes after mounting pressure from civic leaders, former employees, and critics including Elon Musk, who had filed a lawsuit opposing the company's previous plans.
SoftBank, which recently led a massive $40 billion funding round valuing OpenAI at $300 billion, has publicly endorsed the modified approach. During a recent earnings call, SoftBank's finance chief Yoshimitsu Goto stated that "nothing has really changed" with OpenAI's restructuring plan, adding "I don't think that's the wrong direction... that's something that we expected." SoftBank's continued support is crucial, as its $30 billion investment was contingent on OpenAI restructuring by December 31, 2025, or the amount would be reduced to $20 billion.
Meanwhile, Microsoft, which has invested over $13 billion in OpenAI, has emerged as the key holdout. According to multiple reports, Microsoft and OpenAI are currently engaged in tense negotiations to rewrite the terms of their partnership. A critical issue is how much equity Microsoft will receive in OpenAI's new for-profit business in exchange for its investments. Sources familiar with the discussions indicate Microsoft is considering giving up some equity stake in exchange for guaranteed access to OpenAI's technology beyond the current 2030 cutoff date.
The restructuring represents a delicate balancing act for OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who must satisfy investor demands for returns while preserving the company's mission to ensure artificial general intelligence benefits humanity. Under the new structure, the nonprofit will appoint directors to the PBC board and become a significant shareholder in the for-profit entity.
This compromise appears designed to appease critics while still enabling OpenAI to raise the massive capital required to compete in the increasingly expensive AI development race. Altman has previously stated that OpenAI may need to raise "trillions of dollars" to make its services broadly available to humanity and maintain its competitive edge against rivals like Anthropic, Google, and Musk's xAI.