“OpenAI’s decision to recast its for-profit arm as a public benefit corporation while keeping control in the hands of its nonprofit parent is without precedent at this scale,” said Sanchit Vir Gogia, chief analyst and CEO at Greyhound Research. “It is a structure that fuses two competing logics: the relentless need to raise capital for models that cost billions to train, and the equally strong pressure from regulators, investors, and the public to demonstrate accountability.”
The proposed structure enables OpenAI to attract traditional investors who expect potential returns, while the nonprofit parent can ensure safety considerations aren’t sacrificed for profit. However, Gogia warned the hybrid model is “as much a gamble as it is an innovation,” noting concerns about “who carries liability if something goes wrong, whether fiduciary duty to investors will override social commitments when revenues are threatened.”
Charlie Dai, VP and principal analyst at Forrester, said the structure “could influence others because it balances capital access with mission-driven oversight” but warned that “regulatory scrutiny, lawsuits, and governance complexity introduce uncertainty around decision-making speed and long-term stability.”
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