According to TechFlow news on December 26, The Information reported that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman plans to transform OpenAI from a nonprofit organization into a for-profit company, with Microsoft being a key obstacle in this process. Microsoft has committed over $13 billion to OpenAI and has significant influence in the restructuring. The core topics of negotiation between the two parties since last October include: Microsoft's equity in the for-profit entity, whether to continue as OpenAI's exclusive cloud service provider, the duration of Microsoft's use of OpenAI's intellectual property, and Microsoft's right to take 20% from 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 shares after the transformation, which makes employees hope for a swift completion of the changes.