As OpenAI Shifts To For-Profit, Its Foundation Controls $130 Billion. Who Benefits? |
It’s rare for a corporate restructuring to alter the landscape of American philanthropy. But OpenAI's conversion to a for-profit structure in late 2025 created something unprecedented: a nonprofit foundation holding a $130 billion equity stake in one of the world's most valuable AI companies. The OpenAI Foundation has already committed $25 billion to health initiatives and AI resilience, making it an instant mega-philanthropist.
This change is a major development in U.S. corporate governance and philanthropy, as private foundations increasingly address gaps left by declining government aid. History offers two possible paths. Concentrated wealth can build lasting institutions that expand opportunity, or it can blur the line between public purpose and private influence. OpenAI's conversion reignites this question on an unprecedented scale.
Late December is a time for reflecting on fulfilled, delayed or changed promises. It also brings increased giving through campaigns, charity events and updates of annual pledges. Against this backdrop of annual giving, OpenAI’s restructuring represents something fundamentally different in size and structure.
OpenAI started as a nonprofit in 2015, but needed private capital to compete in AI development. In 2019, it created a hybrid structure, part nonprofit, part for-profit, that let investors earn returns while keeping the nonprofit in control. This structure limited how much investors could earn and didn't allow equity ownership.
In late 2025, OpenAI restructured as a for-profit public benefit corporation with one crucial detail: the nonprofit OpenAI Foundation retained a 26% equity stake. As OpenAI's value rises, so does the foundation's endowment.
At the time of the conversion in October, the foundation’s stake in the PBC amounted to approximately $130 billion. The foundation announced an initial $25 billion commitment that will focus on two areas: accelerating health breakthroughs through open-sourced, responsibly built health datasets and funding for scientists; and supporting practical technical solutions for AI resilience to maximize benefits while reducing systemic risks. This supplements a $50 million