OpenAI has no single owner. OpenAI completed its recapitalization on October 28, 2025, and at that closing, according to OpenAI, the nonprofit OpenAI Foundation held 26% of the for-profit OpenAI Group PBC, Microsoft held roughly 27%, and current and former employees and investors held the other 47%. The Foundation appoints the board, so it controls the company even though Microsoft holds the larger stake. A $122 billion round in March 2026 later diluted all three groups.
Part of EPR's Technology coverage. Updated November 3, 2026. For OpenAI's closest rival, see who owns Anthropic.
Who owns OpenAI right now?
OpenAI is owned by three groups: the OpenAI Foundation, Microsoft, and a combined pool of current and former employees and outside investors. The table shows each group's stake at the October 2025 closing, as described on OpenAI's structure page and reported in TechCrunch's recapitalization report.
| Holder | Stake at October 2025 closing | Role |
|---|
| OpenAI Foundation (nonprofit) | 26%, worth about $130 billion at the time, plus a warrant for more shares | Appoints the board of OpenAI Group PBC |
| Microsoft | About 27%, worth about $135 billion at the time | Largest outside shareholder and cloud partner |
| Current and former employees and investors | 47% | Equity holders with no board appointment rights |
The Foundation's warrant lets it receive additional shares if OpenAI reaches a valuation milestone, according to OpenAI. OpenAI has not published an updated cap table since the March 2026 round, so each earlier holder's percentage is now lower than the closing figures because the round issued new shares.
Who controls OpenAI's board?
The OpenAI Foundation controls OpenAI's board. Under the recapitalization, the Foundation keeps legal control of OpenAI Group PBC and appoints its directors, according to TechCrunch's report on the deal. Ownership and control therefore point to different holders: Microsoft holds the largest outside stake, but the nonprofit decides who sits on the board.
OpenAI Group is a public benefit corporation, a for-profit company form that obliges directors to weigh a stated public mission alongside shareholder returns. The attorneys general of California and Delaware, who had raised concerns about the conversion, allowed it to proceed subject to published conditions, per TechCrunch.
How much of OpenAI does Microsoft own?
Microsoft owns roughly 27% of OpenAI Group on an as-converted diluted basis, a stake OpenAI valued at about $135 billion when the recapitalization closed. Microsoft had invested more than $13 billion before the deal, according to The Decoder, and Microsoft's own announcement said the agreement extended its rights to OpenAI's models and products through 2032.
Older figures no longer apply. OpenAI previously said Microsoft held 32.5% before recent funding rounds, and earlier reports suggested Microsoft could eventually own 49% of the for-profit. Neither number describes the current structure.
Why do some articles still say Microsoft owns 49% of OpenAI?
The 49% figure comes from earlier reporting on how profits and equity would be shared before the recapitalization. It was a projection tied to a different structure. The October 2025 closing replaced it with a disclosed stake of roughly 27%, and the 2026 funding round has since diluted that stake.
How did OpenAI's ownership structure change over time?
OpenAI moved from a pure nonprofit to a Foundation-controlled public benefit corporation in five dated steps.
- Late 2015: OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit, according to its own structure page.
- 2019: OpenAI announced a capped-profit subsidiary under the nonprofit, and Microsoft made its first investment, $1 billion, shortly afterward, per OpenAI's structure page and press reports.
- October 28, 2025: the recapitalization closed. The nonprofit became the OpenAI Foundation, and the for-profit became OpenAI Group PBC, according to OpenAI.
- February 27, 2026: OpenAI announced a $110 billion round anchored by Amazon, Nvidia and SoftBank, at a $730 billion pre-money valuation, per Reuters and Bloomberg coverage.
- March 31, 2026: OpenAI said the round closed at $122 billion, with a post-money valuation of $852 billion.
The Foundation also pledged $25 billion toward health and AI resilience work, according to Built In's coverage of the recapitalization.
Who invested in OpenAI's $122 billion round?
Amazon, Nvidia and SoftBank anchored OpenAI's $122 billion round, which closed on March 31, 2026 at an $852 billion post-money valuation. Amazon committed up to $50 billion, with $15 billion up front and $35 billion tied to later conditions, and Nvidia and SoftBank committed $30 billion each, according to Verdict and Bloomberg reporting. SoftBank co-led the round with Andreessen Horowitz and D. E. Shaw, and Microsoft also took part.
| Investor | Commitment | Note |
|---|
| Amazon | Up to $50 billion | $15 billion initial, $35 billion contingent |
| Nvidia | $30 billion | Strategic investor |
| SoftBank | $30 billion | Co-led the round |
| Andreessen Horowitz and D. E. Shaw | Not itemized in the sources reviewed | Named as co-leads or participants |
OpenAI also opened the round to individual investors through banking partners for the first time, per Verdict. The $852 billion valuation was later passed by Anthropic, whose $65 billion Series H set a $965 billion post-money valuation on May 28, 2026, according to press reports. EPR's Anthropic ownership page covers that round.
Who owns ChatGPT?
OpenAI Group PBC owns and operates ChatGPT, so the same ownership structure applies. Microsoft does not own ChatGPT. It holds a minority stake in the company that does.
That distinction matters in coverage. A sentence such as "Microsoft's ChatGPT" is wrong on ownership, even though Microsoft sells OpenAI models through its own products under its licensing rights.
How does OpenAI market itself, and which agencies has it used?
OpenAI markets ChatGPT with a mix of outside agencies and an in-house creative team, and its first chief marketing officer, Kate Rouch, led the early campaigns. Rouch joined in December 2024 from Coinbase, according to Business Insider. The campaigns below are the ones named in trade press.
| Date | Campaign or appointment | Agency or team | Reported by |
|---|
| February 2025 | First Super Bowl ad, a pointillism-style animation linking ChatGPT to earlier inventions; reported cost $14 million | Accenture Song, led by CEO David Droga | Fast Company, Business Insider |
| August 2025 | Global media agency of record named | PHD | B&T |
| September 2025 | Largest ChatGPT brand campaign, running on TV, streaming, outdoor, paid social and influencer partnerships in the U.S. and U.K. | OpenAI's in-house team with Isle of Any | Adweek, via Stocktwits |
| February 2026 | Second Super Bowl spot about builders, after Anthropic's ad on chatbot advertising drew a public response from Sam Altman | Agency not named in the coverage reviewed | B&T, Marketing Brew |
The pattern is a shift from an abstract technology story in 2025 to people-first scenes of everyday use, which Rouch described as lifting up how people use ChatGPT in their daily lives. For deeper analysis, see EPR's pieces on how OpenAI does PR and how ChatGPT picks which brands to cite.
How should communications teams describe OpenAI's ownership?
Communications teams should describe OpenAI as a company controlled by a nonprofit foundation, with Microsoft as the largest outside shareholder. Four wording rules keep copy accurate:
- Write "controlled by the OpenAI Foundation" rather than "owned by Microsoft."
- Date every percentage, for example "26% at the October 2025 closing."
- Use "OpenAI Group PBC" for the for-profit company and "ChatGPT" for the product.
- Drop the 49% and 32.5% Microsoft figures unless the sentence explains they are historical.
EPR's reading is that the two-entity structure is itself a communications task: every statement about OpenAI has to say whether it speaks for the Foundation, the company, or a shareholder. That reading is EPR's analysis, not a statement from OpenAI. Readers comparing how the AI labs show up in answer engines can start with the AI Labs Citation Share Index and OpenAI and Anthropic: The Foundational Model Layer.
