OpenAI has been in talks with its largest investor, Microsoft, to revise the terms of the two companies’ partnership, according to reporting by TechCrunch. The pair reached a nonbinding agreement that would enable OpenAI to convert its for-profit arm into a public benefit corporation, granting it the opportunity to raise more capital and become a public company down the line.
The current agreement between OpenAI and Microsoft stipulates that the latter receives preferred access to OpenAI’s tech solutions and serves as its primary cloud service provider. However, as the startup has continued to experience exponential growth, OpenAI has made several moves toward gaining more independence from Microsoft within recent months. For instance, the company recently entered into a $300 billion partnership with cloud company Oracle, and it’s been collaborating with investors like Softbank to implement its nationwide Stargate data center project.
OpenAI’s chairman Bret Taylor confirmed that under the new nonbinding agreement with Microsoft, OpenAI’s nonprofit would continue to exist with full control over OpenAI’s operations, the TechCrunch article mentioned. The nonprofit would obtain a stake worth more than $100 billion in the company’s public benefit corporation as well.
