The short answer: OpenAI is the AI company behind ChatGPT, which has more than 900 million weekly users, according to CNBC. It was founded in 2015 as a nonprofit and is now a for-profit public benefit corporation controlled by the nonprofit OpenAI Foundation. It is still private as of October 24, 2026. It confidentially filed for an IPO in June and is nearing a funding round at a $1.25 trillion valuation, per CNBC.
A company profile from The Pomp Podcast, hosted by Anthony Pompliano. Last updated: October 24, 2026.
Key takeaways
OpenAI is the AI company behind ChatGPT, which has more than 900 million weekly users, per CNBC.
Founded in 2015 as a nonprofit, it is now a public benefit corporation controlled by the nonprofit OpenAI Foundation.
It is still private; it confidentially filed for an IPO in June 2026 and is nearing a round at a $1.25 trillion valuation, per CNBC.
What is OpenAI?
OpenAI builds AI models and products, including the ChatGPT chatbot and the Codex coding assistant. It "rocketed into the mainstream" after launching ChatGPT in 2022, CNBC reports. Its stated mission is "to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity," according to OpenAI.
Who founded OpenAI?
OpenAI announced itself on December 11, 2015 as a nonprofit AI research company. Its co-chairs were Sam Altman and Elon Musk, its research director was Ilya Sutskever and its CTO was Greg Brockman, formerly CTO of Stripe, according to OpenAI's launch post. Funders committed $1 billion. Altman is now CEO.
Musk later sued OpenAI and Altman, claiming they went back on a promise to keep it a nonprofit. In 2026, an advisory jury found he waited too long to bring the claims, and the judge adopted the verdict, per CNBC.
How is OpenAI structured?
OpenAI created a for-profit subsidiary in 2019. Under a recapitalization announced on October 28, 2025, according to OpenAI:
The nonprofit became the OpenAI Foundation, which controls the company and appoints its board.
The for-profit became OpenAI Group PBC, a public benefit corporation.
The Foundation held a 26% stake, Microsoft about 27%, and current and former employees and investors the remaining 47%.
How much is OpenAI worth, and when is the IPO?
OpenAI was valued at $852 billion post-money in March 2026 and has raised more than $180 billion, per CNBC.
It confidentially filed for an IPO in June 2026. In its announcement, it said: "We have not decided on timing yet," per CNBC.
In October 2026, it was close to an up to $30 billion round at a $1.25 trillion pre-money valuation, led by UAE investors and Coatue, according to people familiar with the deal cited by CNBC. The round had not closed as of that report.
CFO Sarah Friar told employees in August that OpenAI "will be a public company in 2027." A month later, Altman said "right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public," per CNBC.
Who are OpenAI's rivals?
OpenAI faces increasingly stiff competition from Anthropic, Google and SpaceX, which merged with xAI, CNBC reports. Its Codex coding assistant competes directly with Anthropic's Claude Code. CNBC reports OpenAI has shut down side projects such as its Sora video app to focus on enterprise and coding.
Why does OpenAI matter?
Consumer reach. ChatGPT has more than 900 million weekly active users, per CNBC.
Compute spending. OpenAI told investors in February it is targeting roughly $600 billion in total compute spend by 2030, CNBC reports.
A potential mega IPO. CNBC reports OpenAI, Anthropic and SpaceX could end up leading the three largest IPOs on record.
What did The Pomp Podcast say about OpenAI?
OpenAI came up in six recent episodes, usually alongside Anthropic. Quotes below are from the episodes, with timestamps.
On October 17, Pomp argued that companies start with the big labs:
"OpenAI and Anthropic are the starter pack for a company to get involved in AI."
Jordi pushed back on the idea that open-source models will take over:
"to think that Anthropic and OpenAI are losing everything to open source is just stupid."
"OpenAI is coming to the market. Anthropic's coming to the market. These are big things. SpaceX came fast."
On October 10, discussing how Elon Musk's xAI handles its models, Pomp asked Jordi:
"Does that force OpenAI and Anthropic both to open up themselves as well? Or do you think that they can keep these kind of closed, you know, kingdoms"
On October 24, the conversation turned to Warp Sciences, the new company from former OpenAI chief product officer Kevin Weil (43:38).
Every Pomp Podcast episode that discussed OpenAI
OpenAI came up in 6 recent episodes of The Pomp Podcast. Each link opens the YouTube video at that moment.
Oct 24, 2026: Will Bitcoin Survive Quantum Computing? | Jordi Visser. Investors using ChatGPT, and Kevin Weil's Warp Sciences. Timestamps: 23:21 (AI tools for investors), 43:38 (Kevin Weil, ex-OpenAI).
Oct 20, 2026: Bitcoin Is Just Getting Started, Says Billion Dollar Investor | Moez Kassam. Pomp and Moez Kassam on using ChatGPT and getting pre-IPO exposure to OpenAI. Timestamps: 16:31 (ChatGPT agent reading email), 17:53 (private-market access), 23:45 (trading on what ChatGPT says).
Oct 17, 2026: Is Bitcoin Ready To Rip While Wall Street Breaks? | Jordi Visser. Pomp and Jordi debated whether open source threatens OpenAI and Anthropic. Timestamps: 5:13 (who is funding AI capex), 49:04 ("starter pack"), 52:31 (open source vs. the labs), 58:48 (the AI IPO wave).
Oct 15, 2026: How to Find the Next 10x Stock Before Everyone Else | Eric Jackson. Pomp and Eric Jackson comparing ChatGPT with other models. Timestamps: 5:36 (comparing chatbots).
Oct 12, 2026: How to Spot the Next Big Trade Before Wall Street | Chris Camillo. Pomp and Chris Camillo on the arrival of ChatGPT. Timestamps: 3:41 (first using ChatGPT).
Oct 10, 2026: Bitcoin Is the Toll Collector of the AI Economy | Jordi Visser. Pomp and Jordi on whether OpenAI and Anthropic must open up. Timestamps: 10:33 (model routing), 11:15 (open vs. closed models).
Watch or listen to the episode
Is Bitcoin Ready To Rip While Wall Street Breaks? | Jordi Visser, released October 17, 2026. The OpenAI and open-source discussion starts around 52:25.
FROM THE HOST
Put AI to work on your own financial questions.
Silvia is a personal AI CFO, built by investors, for investors. It answers questions about your cash flow, investments and goals using your own financial context, and organizes the details so you can review them. Access is read-only.
Disclosure: Anthony Pompliano is Chairman and CEO of Silvia, Inc. For educational purposes only; not financial advice.
Where can I follow OpenAI?
OpenAI posts news and product releases on its website and on X.
Subscribe to The Pomp Podcast on YouTube, Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Frequently asked questions
What is OpenAI?
OpenAI is the AI company behind ChatGPT and the Codex coding assistant. It is a public benefit corporation controlled by the nonprofit OpenAI Foundation.
Who founded OpenAI?
OpenAI launched in December 2015 as a nonprofit with Sam Altman and Elon Musk as co-chairs, Ilya Sutskever as research director and Greg Brockman as CTO.
Who owns OpenAI?
After its October 2025 recapitalization, the OpenAI Foundation held 26%, Microsoft about 27%, and employees and investors the remaining 47%, according to OpenAI.
Is OpenAI publicly traded?
No. OpenAI confidentially filed for an IPO in June 2026 but has not set a date. Its CFO told employees it "will be a public company in 2027."
How much is OpenAI worth?
OpenAI was valued at $852 billion in March 2026. In October 2026, CNBC reported it was nearing a round at a $1.25 trillion pre-money valuation.
How many people use ChatGPT?
More than 900 million people use ChatGPT weekly, according to CNBC.
Sources
Last updated: October 24, 2026
Anthony Pompliano is an entrepreneur, investor, and author who serves as Chairman and CEO of Silvia, Inc (SVIA) and invests through Pomp Investments. He is the host of The Pomp Podcast, where he interviews founders, investors and economists about bitcoin, markets, AI and the economy.
Follow Pomp on X.
Subscribe
Get notified for every new Pomp Podcast episode.
Subscribe for free to learn alongside Anthony Pompliano.
This profile is for informational purposes only and reflects reporting available as of October 24, 2026, plus opinions shared on The Pomp Podcast. It is not investment advice. Do your own research before making any investment decision.
