5 ms·

> At some point a company needs to make money :-/ OpenAI started as a non-profit.

by joelg 6y ago

eightysixfour 6y ago
Non-profit does not mean “spends money in perpetuity with no revenue.”
- golergka 6y ago
  Yes, that's what vc-based startups are for.
- eggsnbacon1 6y ago
  that's not what happened with OpenAI though. They're not a non-profit anymore, they changed to a "controlled profit" (lol) model. I didn't know this was even possible/legal. Start as a non-profit for all the tax advantages and convert to for-profit once you've got a saleable product? Maybe startups should start doing this
  - chrisco255 6y ago
    What's the point? If your business doesn't turn a profit then you don't owe business income taxes anyways. Most businesses take several years to reach profitability.
  - texasbigdata 6y ago
    I thought it was capped profit not controlled.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
jcims 6y ago
Non-profit doesn't mean zero revenue.
steev 6y ago
The Girl Scouts are a non-profit yet they don't give their cookies away for free.
- cy6erlion 6y ago
  Good point, but their name does not imply that their cookies are free.
- Mediterraneo10 6y ago
  Girl Scouts USA has been a textbook example for decades now of an institution that misuses non-profit status for financial gain.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
PatrolX 6y ago
"OpenAI is governed by the board of OpenAI Nonprofit, which consists of OpenAI LP employees Greg Brockman (Chairman & CTO), Ilya Sutskever (Chief Scientist), and Sam Altman (CEO), and non-employees Adam D’Angelo, Holden Karnofsky, Reid Hoffman, Shivon Zilis, and Tasha McCauley." https://openai.com/blog/openai-lp/ https://openai.com/blog/openai-lp/
- tedivm 6y ago
  The NFL is also managed by a non-profit. Just because you're managed by a non-profit doesn't mean your company is also a non-profit.
  - gowld 6y ago
    The NFL is a (nonprofit) trade association for NFL team companies.
obmelvin 6y ago
Yes, but the computing they are trying to do is expensive, so it makes sense to then try and get some self-sustaining revenue by leveraging their research into a software service. I must admit I don't know about their current status of funding from large companies etc, but I do think it makes sense to try and make a bit of their own money to be more independent.

> At some point a company needs to make money :-/ OpenAI started as a non-profit.

by joelg 6y ago

> At some point a company needs to make money :-/ OpenAI started as a non-profit.

eightysixfour 6y ago

Non-profit does not mean “spends money in perpetuity with no revenue.”

golergka 6y ago
Yes, that's what vc-based startups are for.
eggsnbacon1 6y ago
that's not what happened with OpenAI though. They're not a non-profit anymore, they changed to a "controlled profit" (lol) model. I didn't know this was even possible/legal. Start as a non-profit for all the tax advantages and convert to for-profit once you've got a saleable product? Maybe startups should start doing this
- chrisco255 6y ago
  What's the point? If your business doesn't turn a profit then you don't owe business income taxes anyways. Most businesses take several years to reach profitability.
- texasbigdata 6y ago
  I thought it was capped profit not controlled.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

jcims 6y ago

Non-profit doesn't mean zero revenue.

steev 6y ago

The Girl Scouts are a non-profit yet they don't give their cookies away for free.

cy6erlion 6y ago
Good point, but their name does not imply that their cookies are free.
Mediterraneo10 6y ago
Girl Scouts USA has been a textbook example for decades now of an institution that misuses non-profit status for financial gain.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]

PatrolX 6y ago

"OpenAI is governed by the board of OpenAI Nonprofit, which consists of OpenAI LP employees Greg Brockman (Chairman & CTO), Ilya Sutskever (Chief Scientist), and Sam Altman (CEO), and non-employees Adam D’Angelo, Holden Karnofsky, Reid Hoffman, Shivon Zilis, and Tasha McCauley." https://openai.com/blog/openai-lp/ https://openai.com/blog/openai-lp/

tedivm 6y ago
The NFL is also managed by a non-profit. Just because you're managed by a non-profit doesn't mean your company is also a non-profit.
- gowld 6y ago
  The NFL is a (nonprofit) trade association for NFL team companies.

obmelvin 6y ago

Yes, but the computing they are trying to do is expensive, so it makes sense to then try and get some self-sustaining revenue by leveraging their research into a software service. I must admit I don't know about their current status of funding from large companies etc, but I do think it makes sense to try and make a bit of their own money to be more independent.