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Few names have gained the prominence that ChatGPT has in the world of generative AI. Since its release in November 2022, ChatGPT has become one of the most widely used AI chatbots on the market, powered by models including GPT 3.5, GPT-4, and GPT-4o.
But who created ChatGPT? And who owns ChatGPT exactly in 2024?
In this article, we examine OpenAI, the founding company behind ChatGPT, its major shareholders, and its investments in ChatGPT’s future development.
Key Takeaways
- ChatGPT is a leading chatbot owned by OpenAI.
- OpenAI is the world’s biggest AI startup.
- OpenAI was founded in December 2015 by Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, John schulman and Wojciech Zaremba.
- OpenAI changed from a non-profit to a capped-profit structure in 2019.
- Microsoft is one of the biggest OpenAI investors, with a 49% stake in the company.
Who Owns ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is owned by OpenAI, an AI startup based in San Francisco, California, which was originally founded in December 2015 as a non-profit organization by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, former Y Combinator president Sam Altman, ex-CTO of Stripe Greg Brockman, ex-Google ML expert Ilya Sutskever, AI researcher John Schulman, and ex-Google AI researcher Wojciech Zaremba.
It’s worth noting that OpenAI pivoted to a capped profit structure in 2019. This meant that investors and employees would get a capped return for helping the organization succeed in its mission. The idea was to help raise investment capital and offer employees a form of equity.
What Is OpenAI?
OpenAI is an AI startup lab with Sam Altman as acting CEO and co-founder, Greg Brockman as president and co-founder, and Mira Murati as CTO.
At the time of writing, it is the biggest AI startup lab in the world, holding a valuation of over $80 billion.
Its core research goal is to advance the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI).
Some of OpenAI’s most critically acclaimed projects include ChatGPT, DALL-E 3, GPT Store, Sora, and GPT-4o.
ChatGPT can be accessed via the official OpenAI’s ChatGPT website.
OpenAI has a wide range of investors and shareholders, but the biggest is Microsoft (MSFT), holding a 49% ownership stake after investing over $13 billion in the company to acquire ChatGPT stock.
Other notable shareholders include Thrive Capital, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, K2 Global, a16z, Sequoia, Tigers Global, and Founders Fund.
The range of investors reflects the level of interest in artificial intelligence, AGI capabilities, and OpenAI’s progress in the market, which has been fueled by the success of ChatGPT.
Can You Buy ChatGPT Stock?
OpenAI is not publicly traded. Therefore, you can’t buy stock directly from OpenAI. However, you can invest in Microsoft, which holds almost half of OpenAI.
Otherwise, you can wait until OpenAI decides to go through an initial public offering (IPO).
OpenAI’s Latest Partnerships & Investments in ChatGPT
OpenAI’s latest funding round took place at the start of this year as part of a tender offer led by Thrive Capital, a VC firm.
According to The New York Times, the deal would value the AI startup at $80 billion or more due to the strength of ChatGPT’s AI and the possibilities it holds for the future.
The Bottom Line
Now you know what company owns ChatGPT. In many ways, this AI chatbot has made OpenAI the most valuable AI startup in the world today.
While it’s arguably not the best anymore when compared to high-performing alternatives, such as Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude, it’s still the model that ignited the hype around generative AI.
