OpenAI

OpenAI is an American artificial intelligence research and deployment company and laboratory dedicated to developing general-purpose AI in a way that benefits humanity. It was founded in 2015 by a group including Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, Wojciech Zaremba, John Schulman, and Elon Musk, with the aim of advancing digital intelligence while prioritizing safety and broad access. The organization began as a nonprofit and later established a for-profit subsidiary under a capped-profit structure to attract investment while limiting returns to investors.

The governance and organizational structure involve OpenAI Inc., the nonprofit parent, and OpenAI LP, the for-profit entity. The governance framework includes a board that oversees the nonprofit, with the CEO and leadership team managing day-to-day operations. Sam Altman has served as CEO, guiding the organization’s research and strategy.

OpenAI conducts research across machine learning, reinforcement learning, and AI safety and policy. It has produced a family of models and technologies, including the GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) series, DALL-E, Codex, and Whisper. The API for these models was released in 2020, enabling developers to integrate AI capabilities into applications. Public-facing products include ChatGPT, launched in 2022, and GPT-4, released in 2023. OpenAI maintains a strong partnership with Microsoft, which has invested in the organization and provides cloud infrastructure through Azure; Microsoft is OpenAI’s primary cloud provider for many services.

OpenAI emphasizes safety, alignment research, and policy work to address the potential risks of advanced AI. The organization has faced scrutiny regarding transparency, governance, and the societal impacts of AI technology, balancing rapid innovation with safeguards.