OpenAI CFO says new structure opens door for potential IPO
OpenAI's restructuring plans position it for a potential future IPO, but any such decision would depend on the mood in public markets as well as the readiness of the company, Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar said on Wednesday.
OpenAI, in which Microsoft has invested more than $13 billion, outlined plans in December to convert its for-profit arm into a public benefit corporation (PBC), a structure designed to balance shareholder returns with social goals, unlike nonprofits, which are solely focused on public good.
The ChatGPT-maker dialed back the plan earlier this month, giving the nonprofit parent control of the PBC through a big shareholding, while still allowing the for-profit arm to raise more capital to keep pace in the AI race.
'A PBC gets us to an IPO-able event … if and when we want to,' Friar told the Dublin Tech Summit.
'Nobody tweet in this room that Sarah Friar just said anything about OpenAI ultimately going public,' she added. 'I did not. I said it could happen.'
Asked what would influence a decision, Friar said that as with any company planning to launch on the stock market, the company and markets would have to be ready.
'You can show up at the altar all ready to go, and if the market's not ready for you, yeah, you're just out of luck,' she said.
'Which is why you have to build a company that can be sustainable and safe regardless of where the public markets are, how open that window is.'
To be a public company, 'you definitely need some sense of predictability,' Friar added.
'The market will put up with a certain degree of unpredictability. Particularly when growth is high … but the market doesn't really love it.'
To give a sense of the 'massive' scale of capital that OpenAI might require, Friar said that while a 1 gigawatt data centre footprint costs about $50 billion, the company's 'appetite and ambition' over the next couple of years was to get closer to about 10 gigawatts.
Friar singled out the rapidly growing AI search market as a priority and said that while the company would seek efficiencies, its focus was on finding the next breakthrough product.
'The search market is becoming a big market,' Friar said.
'In that world, I don't really want people spending an inordinate amount of time trying to save an extra 1% when I would rather they went out and kind of built the next state-of-the-art product.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
FATF flags Pakistan bid to ship in missile gear from China on sly
(AI image created using ChatGPT) NEW DELHI: A new report by Financial Action Task Force has flagged Pakistan's attempts to procure equipment for its missile programme by mislabeling shipment, drawing attention to the country's failure in implementing measures to combat financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, which is one of the recommendations of the global watchdog. The report not only reveals that critical components for ballistic missiles originating from China were mislabeled in documents but also links the importer to Pakistan's National Development Complex which handles missile production. India is likely to use the revelations in its dossier to make another push for Pakistan's return to the FATF 'grey list' which identifies countries with weaknesses in their anti-money laundering and terror financing systems. These countries are subjected to closer monitoring and must demonstrate progress on corrective action plans. Pakistan has been on the list three times with the most recent sanction of 2018 lifted in 2022. In Feb 2020, a Chinese vessel named 'Da Cui Yun', which was en route to Port Qasim in Karachi, was intercepted at Gujarat's Kandla port. While the equipment was seized, the ship and its crew were allowed to leave after investigation. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo In its latest report titled 'Complex Proliferation Financing and Sanctions Evasion Schemes', FATF refers to the investigation by Indian Customs. "Indian authorities confirmed that documents mis-declared the shipment's dual-use items. Indian investigators certified the items for shipment to be 'autoclaves', which are used for sensitive high energy materials and for insulation and chemical coating of missile motors," it read. "The sensitive items are included in dual-use export control lists of the Missile Technology Control Regime, India, and other jurisdictions. The Bill of Loading of the seized cargo provided evidence of the link between the importer and National Development Complex," it added. FATF may release the report next month amid hopes in India that it would expose Pakistan's inadequacies in combating terror financing - something which could potentially result in the country being placed under enhanced monitoring, and being returned to 'grey list'. This move would subject Pakistan to increased financial scrutiny, impacting foreign investment and capital inflows. India has been pushing for Pakistan's return to the list, citing its brazen support for terrorism and failure to comply with FATF norms.
India.com
5 hours ago
- India.com
Bad news for employees of this company as it plans to sack over 1000 employees, not Narayana Murthy's Infosys, TCS, Google, IBM
(Representational image: freepik) New Delhi: American multinational corporation and IT giant Microsoft Corporation will cut more than 1000 jobs as the conglomerate is rearranging its staff to support its ambitious Artificial Intelligence initiatives. This will be Microsoft's third significant layoff wave of 2025. Most of the jobs that will be eliminated in early July will be from the sales department. Microsoft's new fiscal year This particular time of early July coincides with the beginning of the company's new fiscal year, according to Bloomberg and the Times of India. As mentioned above, Microsoft is reshuffling its staff to support its ambitious Artificial Intelligence initiatives for which it is doubling down on efficiency and strategic realignment as AI investments mount up. Sales Division in third round of layoffs This third round of layoffs is considerably more focused on customer-facing positions than the earlier two rounds, which were mainly focused on engineers and developers. The most affected would be the employees in Sales and Marketing department which accounts for about 45,000 of Microsoft's 228,000 workers. In the first two rounds of layoffs, Microsoft fired around 2,300 employees in Washington this year. Earlier in 2023, the company had fired 3,200 people, which was the biggest layoffs round. Reportedly, Microsoft had dropped a hint about this move in June 2024 as it relieved 1,000 mixed-reality and Azure roles. Apart from that, the company started selling software to outside companies in April as it concentrated on small and mid-sized business sectors. Experts say that apart from the sales positions, other departments might also be impacted. In May, the company had laid off more than 6,000 people in a 3% cut of its workforce. Out of which 1,985 employees affected were from Washington. Investments in realm of Artificial Intelligence In the proverbial 'keeping up with the times' and adapting to current trends, Microsoft is now emphasising more on AI as it tries to stay ahead in a fast-changing technology landscape. The tech giant is investing heavily into data centres and AI research to support growing demand from businesses that are adopting AI tools and services. The Bloomberg report further said that Microsoft has planned capital expenditure of around Rs 6.6 lakh crore ($80 billion) for the ongoing financial year. A big chunk of this expenditure will go into expanding data centre infrastructure as the aim is to reduce pressure on existing facilities that support AI services. Layoffs in the tech sector are continuously troubling IT professionals. Recently, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has warned that the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the corporate workforce will eventually lead to job cuts. After the COVID-19 pandemic, big tech companies like Amazon, Meta and Google laid off thousands of workers to reduce their staff. Now, another tech giant, Microsoft, has given a live, sombre, and somewhat gloomy presentation.
Economic Times
5 hours ago
- Economic Times
Mondays are for hustle, Fridays for AI: Study reveals why Gen Z wants bots to do the boring stuff
iStock A new Grammarly and Talker Research study reveals that American workers are losing over three hours a week to repetitive tasks, with productivity peaking on Monday mornings and crashing by Friday noon. (Image: iStock) In a revealing new survey by Grammarly, conducted in collaboration with Talker Research, American knowledge workers have offered a striking glimpse into their daily grind—and what they desperately want to leave behind. With productivity peaking at exactly 11 a.m. on Mondays and plunging into a nosedive by Friday at 12:06 p.m., the data shows that the modern office worker may be more reliant on caffeine and coping mechanisms than ever before. But as frustration brews, one thing is becoming crystal clear: artificial intelligence might just be the escape route everyone is hoping for. The survey, which polled 2,000 American employees working in knowledge-based roles, revealed that the average worker faces a barrage of 53 tasks a week that derail their productivity. This task overload adds up to over three and a half hours of 'lost productivity' every single week—a steep cost in time and efficiency. And what are the culprits behind this loss? Repetition and monotony. A staggering 44% of respondents admitted to 'hating' the repetitive aspects of their jobs. The discontent is especially strong among Gen Z employees, with 57% reporting deep dissatisfaction with mundane tasks, compared to just 42% of Gen X workers. Enter AI, not as the job-snatching villain of workplace anxiety, but as the hero workers are actually rooting for. Sixty-two percent of participants said they're eager to use AI for certain tasks, and the enthusiasm is highest among younger employees. What do they want AI to do? The wish list is pragmatic and insightful. Nearly half the respondents (49%) said they want AI tools that are easy to use. Over a third (35%) want help drafting emails, while another third said they'd love AI support for data sorting and meeting note-taking. Simplicity, autonomy, and integration with existing workflows are top priorities—indicating a growing demand for AI solutions that fit seamlessly into daily routines. Heather Breslow, Head of UX and Marketing Research at Grammarly, summed it up: 'By minimizing the tedious tasks that get in the way of true productivity, AI users have time to focus on more meaningful work that requires their judgment, creativity and care.' Despite widespread willingness to embrace AI, the corporate world appears sluggish in response. Only 38% of the surveyed workers said their companies have a clear AI usage policy. Yet half of all respondents—and a whopping 67% of Gen Z workers—wish their workplaces were more proactive in integrating AI tools. This enthusiasm stems from hope, not fear. Sixty-four percent view AI as a career growth opportunity rather than a threat. An overwhelming 76% believe AI will become essential in corporate roles—and they expect that transformation to become reality in just three and a half years. Grammarly's report sounds a clear alarm for employers dragging their feet on digital transformation. As Breslow notes, 'For organizations to stay competitive in a landscape where everyone is harnessing AI, they must actively invest in helping their people use it well.' That means structured upskilling, thoughtful tool integration, and a cultural shift toward creating AI super users—teams empowered not just to adapt, but to thrive in an AI-powered future. Whether it's sorting spreadsheets, drafting meeting notes, or simply eliminating the dread of repetitive clicks, the message from the workforce is unmistakable: Let the bots take the boring stuff. We've got better things to do.
