According to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), OpenAI has modified the governance structure of its venture capital fund, which supports AI businesses.
As a result, its well-known CEO Sam Altman no longer owns or controls the $175 million fund.
News.ng gathered that Ian Hathaway, who has been managing the fund since its inception in 2021, has taken over as its new manager.
The modification, which is detailed in the filing dated March 29, was made in response to criticism of Altman’s ownership of the OpenAI Startup Fund due to its peculiar structure.
Although the fund was advertised as a corporate venturing arm, Altman solicited the money from outside limited partners and made the investment selections.
Despite being the owner, Altman does not have a financial stake in the fund, according to OpenAI.
Former president of Y Combinator, Altman has been under fire in the past for his extensive outside interests in investments, ranging from fusion business Helion Energy to cryptocurrency startup Worldcoin, as well as his fundraising operations in the Middle East.
In late 2021, the OpenAI Startup Fund was established to fund additional AI ventures.
As of May of last year, it had committed $175 million in total and had a portfolio that included the legal tool Harvey and the video editor Descript.
It has consistently had outside limited partners, such as Microsoft, a significant OpenAI partner, which is uncommon for corporate VC funds but not unprecedented.
But the fact that OpenAI Startup Fund was independent of OpenAI was what made it unique. not even by the charitable foundation that is linked to it. Altman was the rightful owner of it instead.
Explaining Altman’s leadership in the fund so far, OpenAI said:
“As previously communicated, the initial structure of the GP fund was a temporary agreement and did not involve any personal investment or financial interest from Sam. This change brings more clarity.”
We earlier reported that OpenAI has announced that users will be able to access its ChatGPT generative AI chatbot starting Monday without requiring a sign-up for the service.
This move, disclosed by the Microsoft-backed startup, aims to make ChatGPT more accessible to users.
