An initial $13 billion investment, supplemented with another $10 billion four years later, is now worth $228.3 billion, according to a leaked document that details all of OpenAI’s compiled public filings and secondary-market disclosures.
Microsoft, which has a 26.79 percent stake in the artificial intelligence research and development company, is the biggest winner among the 29 investors listed on the reconstructed cap table—and it’s bound to get even richer if and when OpenAI goes public, as expected, later this year or in early 2027.
The biggest surprise in the now-viral document, leaked in the wake of a $122 billion funding round that increased OpenAI’s valuation to $852 billion: chief executive officer Sam Altman has zero equity in the San Francisco-based company he launched as a nonprofit in 2015.
Another surprise: No. 22 on the list of OpenAI’s biggest investors is Sound Ventures, a venture capital company co-founded by actor Ashton Kutcher. His company’s 0.15 percent stake in OpenAI is currently valued at $1.3 billion. By one estimate, Kutcher would be entitled to 30 percent of those shares, a position that’s now worth about $400 million.
OpenAI transitioned from a nonprofit company to a capped-profit model in 2019 and a public benefit corporation (PBC) in 2025, but its ongoing nonprofit entity, OpenAI Foundation, continues to thrive. It has a 25.8 percent stake in the company worth $219.8 billion, second only to Microsoft.
OpenAI’s decision to continue operating a nonprofit after starting a for-profit operation spurred three lawsuits by Elon Musk, who says his $38 million donation to the foundation was contingent on OpenAI maintaining its nonprofit status. Alleging breach of contract and fraud, Musk is asking for $79 billion to $139 billion in damages. The case is scheduled to go to trial April 27 in Oakland, California.
Source:
www.inc.com
