Is OpenAI owned by Elon Musk?

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Elon Musk does not currently own OpenAI. OpenAI was founded in 2015 by Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Greg Brockman and others. Musk was an early investor, contributing $10-15 million. He also helped attract key talent in the early days.

However, Musk left OpenAI’s board in February 2018 due to potential conflicts of interest with his work in AI at Tesla. After leaving, he stopped donating to OpenAI.

Also read: Sam Altman returns as CEO of OpenAI amid turmoil

In 2019, OpenAI transitioned from a non-profit to a ‘capped profit’ structure. This allowed for outside investment and Microsoft invested $1 billion. Microsoft later invested another $10 billion in 2023.

As of 2023, OpenAI’s ownership structure consists of:

  • Microsoft (49% of shares)
  • Other investors such as Khosla Ventures and Reid Hoffman (49%)
  • The original OpenAI non-profit foundation (2%)

In short, Musk was an early co-founder and donor, but no longer has any direct ownership or control of OpenAI. The company is now majority owned by Microsoft and other investors. The non-profit foundation retains only a small degree of control.

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