- According to The Wall Street Journal, Sam Altman has invested in more than 400 companies.
- Several companies Altman reportedly backs have done business with OpenAI, raising questions about conflicts of interest.
- OpenAI says it is carefully managing potential conflicts.
Sam Altman and his venture fund have reportedly invested in over 400 companies.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Altman is one of Silicon Valley’s most prolific individual investors, with more than $2.8 billion in assets as of earlier this year.
The CEO doesn’t own any shares in OpenAI, which has a market capitalization of $86 billion, and he reportedly earns about $65,000 a year, but Bloomberg recently reported that his net worth exceeded $2 billion.
A lot of this is due to his extensive investment portfolio, which includes major companies like Reddit and Stripe.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Altman has also used credit lines from his bank, JPMorgan Chase, to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in private startups.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, several of the startups Altman has funded also do business with OpenAI, raising questions about potential conflicts of interest for the AI ​​company’s CEO.
In one recent example, when OpenAI announced a partnership with Reddit, the company’s stock price soared by more than 10% and Altman’s personal Reddit stock increased by $69 million.
In a blog post about the partnership, OpenAI said the deal was led by its COO and approved by an independent board of directors, and that Altman was not involved.
A representative for Altman did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment, made outside of regular business hours.
When contacted by The Wall Street Journal, a spokesman for Altman declined to comment on potential conflicts of interest between OpenAI and his personal investments.
Brett Taylor, chairman of OpenAI’s board of directors, told the outlet that Altman has “consistently toed the line and been transparent about his investments.”
“Sam is fully focused on his role as CEO. We are carefully managing any potential conflicts and always putting OpenAI and our mission first,” Taylor said.
Former OpenAI board member Helen Toner, who pushed for Altman’s brief ouster from OpenAI last November, recently accused the CEO of “concealing information” and “misrepresenting the situation.”
“TED AI ShowOn the podcast, Toner claimed that Altman failed to tell the board that he previously held a startup fund for OpenAI.
“I am disappointed that Mr. Tonner continues to raise these issues,” Taylor said in a statement to the podcast at the time.
Reuters reported that a March filing showed the firm had changed the governance structure of its venture capital fund, removing Altman’s control over the fund.
Business Insider’s parent company, Axel Springer, has a global deal to allow OpenAI to train models on its media brands’ reporting.
