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OpenAI may give board special voting rights to ward off takeover attempts

OpenAI may give board special voting rights to ward off takeover attempts | TechCrunch

===============
OpenAI may give board special voting rights to ward off takeover attempts | TechCrunch

===============
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In Brief

Posted:

9:27 AM PST · February 18, 2025

![Image 3: OpenAI logo is being displayed on a mobile phone screen in front of computer screen with the logo of ChatGPT](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/GettyImages-1647521480-e1694685235777.jpg?w=1024)

**Image Credits:**Didem Mente/Anadolu Agency / Getty Images

* ![Image 4: Kyle Wiggers](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Kyle-Wiggers.jpg)

* [Kyle Wiggers](https://techcrunch.com/author/kyle-wiggers/)

OpenAI may give board special voting rights to ward off takeover attempts
=========================================================================

To fend off future hostile takeover attempts, OpenAI is considering giving its nonprofit board special voting rights, according to [a new report in the Financial Times](https://www.ft.com/content/5af7279f-5996-46f8-a7b9-f35d966880a0).

The rights would allow the board to overrule major investors in the company, preserving some of its powers after OpenAI [completes its transition](https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/27/openai-lays-out-its-for-profit-transition-plans/) to a for-profit. OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit before [converting to a “capped-profit” structure](https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/11/openai-shifts-from-nonprofit-to-capped-profit-to-attract-capital/) in 2019. The company is now in the process of restructuring once again, this time to a public benefit corporation.

Last week, [a group of investors](https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/13/eon-musks-full-offer-letter-to-buy-openai-reveals-five-key-details/) led by billionaire Elon Musk offered to buy OpenAI’s nonprofit for $97.4 billion. [OpenAI’s board unanimously rejected](https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/14/openai-says-its-board-of-directors-unanimously-rejects-musks-bid/) the offer, but the move could [still put a wrinkle](https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/11/how-musks-97-4b-bid-could-gum-up-openais-for-profit-conversion/) in OpenAI’s plans.

OpenAI aims to spin out its nonprofit, which will hire its own staff and leadership team — freeing up the for-profit arm to run and control OpenAI’s business and operations. OpenAI has promised its investors that it’ll complete the conversion by late 2026.

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