According to media reports citing sources, the artificial intelligence (AI) research company OpenAI is considering changing its company structure to be more investor-friendly, as the company advances with a multi-billion dollar financing.

Previously reported by the media, OpenAI is in discussions for a new round of funding, planning to raise billions of dollars at a valuation exceeding 100 billion US dollars. Venture capital firm Thrive Capital will lead this round of funding, with investments reaching 1 billion US dollars. In addition,$Apple (AAPL.US)$,$NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$as well as OpenAI's largest shareholder$Microsoft (MSFT.US)$All are interested in participating in this round of financing.

According to insiders, OpenAI has discussed restructuring with investors and has not yet reached a consensus on the final form. Simplifying OpenAI's complex non-profit structure would make the company more attractive to financial investors.

If the new round of financing plan is successfully completed, OpenAI will become one of the most valuable technology startups in Silicon Valley's history, surpassing the $95 billion valuation achieved by payment company Stripe in private financing in 2021.

OpenAI was initially a non-profit organization and converted to a for-profit startup in 2019. OpenAI currently defines itself as a capped-profit enterprise.

OpenAI may cancel the profit limit of investors.

In fact, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, has publicly criticized the company's complex structure.

In response to whether OpenAI will go public, Altman answered, "I don't want to get sued by the open market and Wall Street, so the answer is no, not so interested." He then explained, "We have a very strange structure, we have a profit cap."

It is reported that OpenAI has not made a final decision on whether to change its own structure, and one option is to cancel the profit limit of existing investors in its for-profit subsidiaries.

OpenAI currently offers shares to investors through its for-profit subsidiary, which is managed by its non-profit board of directors. OpenAI states that the primary beneficiaries of the board of directors are humans, not OpenAI's investors.

Currently, investors in OpenAI are required to sign an operating agreement that stipulates any investment in OpenAI's for-profit subsidiary should be made with a spirit of donation, and OpenAI may never make a profit.

So far, these provisions have not been a barrier, as OpenAI has already received a $13 billion investment from Microsoft alone.

However, according to an OpenAI investor, they hope that OpenAI can transition to a more traditional and simpler for-profit structure, preferably without a profit cap.

Editor/ping