# OpenAI Investors Ownership and capital map for [[OpenAI]]. Tracks the funding trajectory from nonprofit research lab ($130M in donations, 2015–2018) to the most valuable private company in history ($852B, April 2026). Governance and voting control are covered in [[OpenAI Leadership]]; this page is the money side. > Ownership percentages are estimates from public reporting; OpenAI is pre-IPO and does not file 13Fs. The S-1 filing (confidentially submitted June 8, 2026) will eventually make cap-table details public. Figures below reflect reporting through June 2026. ## Ownership structure (2026) OpenAI Group PBC's equity is distributed approximately as follows: - **OpenAI Foundation** — 25.8% equity stake (retained from the nonprofit conversion). The Foundation is the renamed original nonprofit; it holds governance oversight and economic interest but no structural veto. - **[[Microsoft]]** — ~49% economic interest (pre-conversion; post-PBC stake unclear). Invested $13B+ across multiple tranches (2019–2023). Exclusive commercial licensing and Azure hosting. The single most consequential investor-partner relationship in AI. - **[[SoftBank]]** — largest individual funder in the 2025–2026 rounds ($30B+ in Series F, co-led Series G). Masayoshi Son chairs the [[Stargate Project]]. - **Amazon** — $50B anchor commitment in the Series G (Feb–Mar 2026), the single largest individual investor contribution in OpenAI history. - **Nvidia** — $30B Series G commitment (significant portion in dedicated GPU compute capacity, not purely cash). - **Employee equity holders** — undisclosed aggregate; OpenAI ran tender offers in 2023 and 2024 allowing early employees to sell shares at $80B+ valuations. ## Funding rounds | Date | Round | Amount raised | Post-money valuation | Lead / major investors | |---|---|---|---|---| | 2015–2018 | Nonprofit donations | ~$130M | N/A | [[Elon Musk]] ($100M pledge), [[Sam Altman]], Reid Hoffman, Peter Thiel, others | | 2019 | Series A (capped profit) | $1B | ~$29B ceiling | [[Microsoft]] (exclusive) | | 2021 | Secondary | undisclosed | ~$29B | [[Microsoft]] additional | | 2023 (Jan) | Microsoft expansion | $10B | ~$29B (unchanged ceiling) | [[Microsoft]] (cumulative $13B+) | | 2023 (Apr) | Venture round | $300M | $27–29B | [[Thrive Capital]], [[Andreessen Horowitz]], Sequoia, [[Khosla Ventures]], K2 Global | | 2024 (Oct) | Series E | $6.6B | $157B | [[Thrive Capital]] (~$1.2B lead), [[Khosla Ventures]], [[Microsoft]], Nvidia, Altimeter, Fidelity, [[SoftBank]], MGX | | 2025 (Mar) | Series F | $40B | $300B | [[SoftBank]] ($30B), [[Microsoft]], Coatue, Altimeter, [[Thrive Capital]] | | 2025 (Oct) | Secondary | $6.6B | $500B | [[SoftBank]], [[Thrive Capital]], Dragoneer, MGX, T. Rowe Price | | 2026 (Feb–Apr) | Series G | $122B | $852B | Amazon ($50B), Nvidia ($30B), [[SoftBank]], [[Andreessen Horowitz]], D.E. Shaw, TPG, MGX | **Total raised:** $300B+ (cumulative through June 2026). **Other Series G participants:** Altimeter, Appaloosa LP, ARK Invest, [[BlackRock]], Blackstone, Coatue, T. Rowe Price. ## Key investor dynamics **[[Microsoft]] — the structural lock-in.** Microsoft's $13B+ investment predates the mega-rounds, but its leverage extends beyond capital: OpenAI's models are hosted on Azure, Microsoft gets exclusive commercial licensing, and the two companies' financial fates are intertwined. Microsoft holds a ~49% economic interest in the pre-PBC entity. The relationship is simultaneously OpenAI's greatest asset (distribution, compute, credibility) and its greatest structural risk (dependency, governance entanglement, antitrust exposure). **[[SoftBank]] — the conversion catalyst.** [[SoftBank]]'s $40B Series F was explicitly contingent on OpenAI completing the for-profit conversion by December 31, 2025 — or the commitment would be slashed to $20B. This gave a Japanese investment conglomerate effective veto power over the governance structure of a supposed American AI safety organization. Son's appointment as [[Stargate Project]] chairman further entangles [[SoftBank]] in OpenAI's infrastructure ambitions. **Amazon — the $50B anchor.** Amazon's single-round commitment is the largest individual investor contribution in OpenAI's history. It represents a competitive hedge: Amazon is simultaneously the primary cloud/investor partner for [[Anthropic]] (which it has backed with $8B+). The dual investment strategy ensures Amazon has a seat at whichever AI company leads. **[[Thrive Capital]] — the Altman orbit.** Led by Josh Kushner (Jared Kushner's brother), [[Thrive Capital]] has been in every major OpenAI round since 2023 and led the Series E. The Kushner connection creates a link between OpenAI's capital structure and the broader Trump political ecosystem, though the investment relationship predates the current political alignment. ## The IPO trajectory OpenAI confidentially submitted a draft S-1 registration statement to the SEC on June 8, 2026. The company has not finalized a public listing timeline but is targeting a potential listing as early as Q4 2026 (likely October–November). At the $852B private valuation, an IPO could push OpenAI past $1T market cap. Key IPO dynamics: - **Revenue:** Reported ~$12.7B ARR as of early 2026, with projections toward $25B+ by year-end. - **Profitability:** Still unprofitable; estimated $5B+ in losses for 2024; compute costs are the primary burn. - **Lockup terms:** Unknown until S-1 is public; early employee tender offers have partially relieved liquidity pressure. ## Open questions to track - Full cap-table disclosure in the S-1 filing. - Microsoft's post-conversion economic interest (the ~49% figure is pre-PBC). - Whether the OpenAI Foundation's 25.8% stake dilutes in future rounds. - Insider selling patterns post-IPO. - Any antitrust scrutiny of the Microsoft-OpenAI financial relationship. ## See Also - [[OpenAI]] — company page - [[OpenAI Dossier]] — dossier front door - [[OpenAI Leadership]] — governance and voting control - [[Microsoft]] — primary investor/partner - [[SoftBank]] — largest funder - [[Thrive Capital]] - [[Stargate Project]]