OpenAI's restructuring, explained

OpenAI completed its restructuring, which turned the non-profit into a foundation that now holds equity in a new for-profit public benefit company valued at nearly $500 billion.

Microsoft keeps 27%, now worth about $135 billion, positioning it as a major shareholder in AI. The new setup drops the capped-profit limits and opens the door for full-scale capital raises, commercial partnerships, and eventual public markets.

For Microsoft, it locks in ownership of models, infrastructure, and distribution. It marks the shift from research lab to industrial platform for everyone else.