Elon Musk Wonders How Non-Profit ChatGPT Parent Became $30B For-Profit: 'I Donated $100M'

Days after it was reported that Elon Musk could be developing a rival to OpenAI‘s chatGPT, the Tesla and Twitter CEO expressed confusion over how a non-profit organization became a $30 billion for-profit company. 

What Happened: Responding to a meme about OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman and his company no longer being a “non-profit or even open,” Musk replied by questioning the legality of this shift. 

See Also: Bill Gates Says ChatGPT As Big An Invention As The Internet: ‘Will Make Many Office Jobs…’

Musk tweeted, “I’m still confused as to how a non-profit to which I donated ~$100M somehow became a $30B market cap for-profit. If this is legal, why doesn’t everyone do it?”

Musk co-founded OpenAI, the startup that created ChatGPT. He left the organization in 2018 over some disagreements.

OpenAI did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment. 

Why It’s Important: In 2019, OpenAI shed its non-profit status and became a “capped-profit” company that enabled it to “rapidly increase” investments in “compute and talent.”

The same year, Microsoft Corporation MSFT first invested in OpenAI. Extending the same, in January this year, Microsoft forged a $10 billion investment deal with chatGPT parent. 

Musk has repeatedly expressed worries over chatGPT’s ‘wokeness’ as well as feeling general angst about AI, saying it needs a regulatory body to keep it in check.

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