Why OpenAI Stopped Being a Nonprofit

By 2017, OpenAI realized that building cutting-edge AI systems would cost billions of dollars—far more than any nonprofit could afford. Training costs were climbing fast, expected to reach hundreds of millions by 2020. The company concluded it needed a for-profit structure to raise the capital required to continue. This financial reality, not a change in mission, led to the Microsoft deal and profit-sharing model now disputed in court.