According to TechFlow, on December 26, The Information reported that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman plans to transform OpenAI from a non-profit organization to a for-profit company, and the key obstacle in this process is Microsoft. Microsoft has pledged to invest more than $13 billion in OpenAI and has a significant influence in the structural adjustment. The core issues of the negotiations between the two parties since October last year include: Microsoft's equity in the for-profit entity, whether to continue to be OpenAI's exclusive cloud service provider, the period for Microsoft to use OpenAI's intellectual property, and Microsoft's right to extract 20% of OpenAI's revenue.
If OpenAI cannot complete its transformation within two years, investors can recover $7.2 billion plus interest, putting pressure on the company. Additionally, OpenAI plans to repurchase some employee stock after the transformation, which makes employees hope that the change will be completed quickly.