The change, documented in the March 29 filing, came after
Altman's ownership of the OpenAI Startup Fund raised eyebrows for its unusual
structure--while being marketed similar to a corporate venture arm, the fund
was raised by Altman from outside limited partners and he made investment
decisions. OpenAI has said Altman does not have financial interest in the fund
despite the ownership.
Axios first reported on the ownership change on Monday. In a
statement, a spokesperson for OpenAI said the fund's initial general partner
(GP) structure was a temporary arrangement, and "this change provides
further clarity."
The OpenAI Startup Fund is investing $175 million raised
from OpenAI partners such as Microsoft, although OpenAI itself is not an
investor.
Control of the fund has been moved over to Ian Hathaway, a
partner at the fund since 2021, according to the filing. Altman will no longer
be a general partner at the fund.
OpenAI said Hathaway has overseen the fund's accelerator
program and led investments in such companies as Harvey, Cursor and Ambience
Healthcare.
Altman, a former president at startup accelerator Y
Combinator, has previously drawn scrutiny on his sprawling investment interest
outside OpenAI, from crypto startup Worldcoin to fusion company Helion Energy,
as well as fundraising activities in the Middle East.
OpenAI said an independent investigation following Altman's
dramatic ouster of the company last November concluded he did no wrongdoing in
terms of product safety or OpenAI’s finances.
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