Observer | Bret Taylor Leads OpenAI Foundation’s $1B Drive for A.I. Safety and Health by Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly
OpenAI, founded in 2015 as a nonprofit devoted to ensuring A.I. benefits all of humanity, drew criticism after creating a capped‑profit subsidiary in 2019 and was accused by figures such as co‑founder Elon Musk of drifting from its mission. That chapter effectively closed last year when OpenAI converted to a public benefit corporation and granted the nonprofit a 26 percent equity stake as part of the recapitalization. With that stake now valued at around $130 billion, the foundation plans to back projects that both expand A.I.’s upside and tackle its risks, according to Bret Taylor, chair of the OpenAI Foundation, now one of the world’s largest charities.
Taylor said in a March 24 update that the foundation will invest at least $1 billion this year in areas including life sciences, jobs and community programs, marking a major ramp‑up in giving and accompanied by a wave of new hires.
Taylor became OpenAI’s chair in 2023 in the wake of CEO Sam Altman’s brief ouster and reinstatement. Taylor’s resume spans chief technology officer at Facebook (now Meta), co‑CEO of Salesforce and chair of Twitter (now X), in addition to launching multiple startups, including the A.I. company Sierra.
Read more: https://observer.com/2026/03/openai-chair-bret-taylor-nonprofit-giving/
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