OpenAI has finalised a major restructuring with its external shareholder Microsoft that values the ChatGPT maker at $500 billion and clears the way for it to operate as a for-profit business, The Times UK reports.
Founded as a research-focused non-profit in 2015, OpenAI will now adopt a more investor-friendly structure, allowing it to raise capital while a newly created OpenAI Foundation retains equity in the company’s for-profit arm. Microsoft, which first invested in OpenAI in 2019, will hold a 27% stake in the restructured firm, worth approximately $135 billion.
The deal also gives Microsoft continued access to OpenAI’s technology until 2032, even if the company achieves artificial general intelligence (AGI), the milestone at which AI systems can match the cognitive abilities of a well-educated human adult. OpenAI has also agreed to purchase $250 billion of Microsoft’s Azure cloud services, though Microsoft will lose its right of first refusal on any new cloud offerings from OpenAI.
The announcement boosted Microsoft’s shares by $14.34, or 2.7%, to $545.86 in New York trading, pushing the company’s valuation past $4 trillion. Barclays analyst Raimo Lenschow noted: “The scale of the Azure commitment underscores Microsoft’s continued dominance in AI infrastructure, and the deal also sets the stage for long-term collaboration between the two firms.”
OpenAI has grown into a commercial giant since launching ChatGPT in 2022, which now has around 800 million weekly active users. The company has prioritised growth and the development of advanced AI models over profitability, with HSBC analysts forecasting losses of $23.5 billion in 2025, rising to $60 billion in 2027.
The restructuring is also seen as a step toward a potential public listing in the future. OpenAI chairman Bret Taylor said: “OpenAI has completed its recapitalisation, simplifying its corporate structure. The nonprofit remains in control of the for-profit, and now has a direct path to major resources before AGI arrives.”
Gil Luria, head of technology research at DA Davidson, added that the deal “resolves the longstanding issue of OpenAI being organised as a not-for-profit and settles the ownership rights of the technology vis-à-vis Microsoft. The new structure should provide more clarity on OpenAI’s investment path, thus facilitating further fundraising.”
The move comes amid a broader AI boom in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street, as banks, investors, and tech companies race to commercialise artificial intelligence. PayPal, for example, announced a deal with OpenAI allowing ChatGPT users to make purchases via its platform, sending its shares up 9.6% to $76.98, while also raising its annual profit forecast and announcing its first dividend in 27 years.
Microsoft, Apple, and Nvidia are now the only publicly traded companies with valuations exceeding $4 trillion, driven by optimism over AI’s transformative potential and easing trade tensions.
