Microsoft And OpenAI Agree On Restructuring, Sam Altman Prepares Roads For ChatGPT IPO

CEO OpenAI, Sam Altman (left) and CEO of MIcrosoft, Satya Nadela (photo: x @fasnet)

JAKARTA - Microsoft and OpenAI officially announced a restructuring agreement that removes fundraising restrictions for ChatGPT makers. This move paved the way for OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to bring the company to its initial share offering (IPO) in the US to finance big ambitions to build the next generation of AI data and technology centers.

In an agreement announced Tuesday, October 28, US time, OpenAI will transform into a benefit-oriented public company (public benefit or PBC) called OpenAI Group PBC, which remains under the control of the OpenAI Foundation nonprofit. This new structure allows OpenAI to operate like a technology company in general, without leaving the principle of social responsibility that used to be the basis for its establishment.

"Now we can bring this technology, together with a huge user base, for the whole world to build new services and businesses on it," Altman said in a live broadcast of the restructuring announcement.

Microsoft maintains 27% of shares in OpenAI, worth about 135 billion US dollars, and remains a key partner until 2032. However, Microsoft no longer has privileges as the main provider of cloud computing (cloud) for OpenAI. Instead, OpenAI will purchase Azure services worth 250 billion US dollars, while 20% revenue sharing to Microsoft will continue until an independent institution says OpenAI has reached its Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) level.

Microsoft shares rose 2% after the announcement, pushing its market cap back into USD 4 trillion.

The new deal removed a number of old limits that had raised tensions between the two companies, especially since the ChatGPT's popularity exploded at the end of 2022. Previously, the 2019 agreement between the two required OpenAI to rely fully on Microsoft's infrastructure, limiting access to investors and other computing providers.

Altman emphasized that this restructuring is important to fund major OpenAI projects. He estimates capital needs reach 1.4 trillion US dollars to build 30 gigawatt data center infrastructure in the next few years. In the long run, Altman has even targeted the creation of a data center capable of adding one gigawatt capacity each week, with costs per unit lowered from 50 to 20 billion US dollars.

Despite being in strategic control, Altman will not accept personal shares in this new entity. His salary remains at $76,000 per year, without an equity bonus.

This restructuring also received a positive response from partners and investors. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who was asked about the restructuring news at the developer's conference, said the move was "not surprising" and even predicted OpenAI's IPO could be one of the most successful in history.

Bret Taylor, Chairman of the OpenAI Foundation, called this change a step towards simpler and more efficient governance. "Non-profit institutions remain in control, but now have a direct path to large resources before the AGI era arrives," he wrote on the official blog.

However, a number of analysts assess that OpenAI's challenges have not been completed. Adam Sarhan, CEO of 50 Park Investments, assessed that transparency, data use, and security surveillance remain the main issues. However, this new structure provides a clearer path for innovation and accountability," he said.

With more than 800 million weekly ChatGPT users as of October 2025, OpenAI is now not just an AI research laboratory but a new economic power ready to step onto the stock exchange floor, while bringing great questions about the future of artificial intelligence and who really controls it.