Dossier · compiled from public sources
Sam Altman
CEO and co-founder of OpenAI and a member of the OpenAI Foundation board; he was president of Y Combinator from 2014 to 2019.
Facts last checked 1 Nov 2026. Each source was read on the day shown in the source list. A profile is due for a fresh read of its sources after 180 days.
Roles
CEO at OpenAI (by 29 Nov 2023, current)
OpenAI’s 2023-11-29 post announces his return as CEO; its structure page lists him as CEO.
Co-founder at OpenAI (by 11 Dec 2015, current)
OpenAI’s 2026-02-27 post signs him “co-founder and CEO”; its 2015 launch post named him a co-chair.
CEO at OpenAI (by 11 Mar 2019, until 17 Nov 2023)
Listed as CEO in OpenAI’s 2019 post. OpenAI’s board announced on 2023-11-17 that he would depart as CEO.
President at Y Combinator (from 2014, ending by 20 May 2019, the date of the announcement)
Y Combinator’s 2019-05-20 post announces Geoff Ralston taking over as president; its author note says he was president from 2014 to 2019.
Co-chair at OpenAI (by 11 Dec 2015, end not stated)
Named as one of OpenAI’s two co-chairs in its launch post.
Board seats
Board seat on the OpenAI Foundation board (the OpenAI nonprofit’s board before October 2025) (from 8 Mar 2024, current)
OpenAI announced he would rejoin the board; its structure page lists him on the OpenAI Foundation board as CEO.
OpenAI, 8 Mar 2024; OpenAI, 8 Mar 2024; OpenAI, undated page
Board seat on the OpenAI Foundation board (the OpenAI nonprofit’s board before October 2025) (by 11 Mar 2019, until 17 Nov 2023)
Listed on the board in 2019. OpenAI’s board announced on 2023-11-17 that he would leave it.
Also listed on the OpenAI Foundation board (the OpenAI nonprofit’s board before October 2025)
From the same sources, as listed on the day each was read; start dates are given only where a source gives one.
- Adam D'Angelo
- Adebayo Ogunlesi
- Bret Taylor
- David Vélez
- Nicole Seligman
- Paul Christiano
- Paul M. Nakasone
- Robin Vince
- Sue Desmond-Hellmann
- Zico Kolter
Funding
Money put into the companies above while the role and the funding may overlap, and by companies of this person into others. Funders are a selection: the donors a launch post names, anchors and leads of a round, and stated investments. They are not a complete list.
Microsoft invested in OpenAI (from 2019, current)
Microsoft’s 2023 post refers to earlier investments in 2019 and 2021; OpenAI says Microsoft holds roughly 27% of OpenAI Group after the 2025 recapitalization, and that Microsoft continued to take part in its 2026 round.
Microsoft, 23 Jan 2023; OpenAI, undated page; OpenAI, 31 Mar 2026
Amazon committed capital to OpenAI’s funding round (by 31 Mar 2026, end not stated)
OpenAI announced on 2026-02-27 new investment that includes Amazon, and on 2026-03-31 that it had closed the round with committed capital, anchored by Amazon, NVIDIA and SoftBank.
The dates given do not settle whether this fell inside the role; at least one is an announcement date or is not stated.
This is a commitment, not a completed act. OpenAI, 27 Feb 2026; OpenAI, 31 Mar 2026
NVIDIA committed capital to OpenAI’s funding round (by 31 Mar 2026, end not stated)
OpenAI announced on 2026-02-27 new investment that includes NVIDIA, and on 2026-03-31 that it had closed the round with committed capital, anchored by NVIDIA, Amazon and SoftBank. NVIDIA said on 2025-09-22 that it intended to invest in OpenAI under a letter of intent, and its annual report for the year ended 2026-01-25 said it was finalizing an agreement with OpenAI, and also said there was no assurance that an agreement would be entered into with OpenAI or that a transaction would be completed.
The dates given do not settle whether this fell inside the role; at least one is an announcement date or is not stated.
This is a commitment, not a completed act. OpenAI, 27 Feb 2026; OpenAI, 31 Mar 2026; NVIDIA, 22 Sep 2025; NVIDIA, undated page
SoftBank committed capital to OpenAI’s funding round (by 31 Mar 2026, end not stated)
OpenAI announced on 2026-02-27 new investment that includes SoftBank, and on 2026-03-31 that it had closed the round with committed capital, anchored by SoftBank, Amazon and NVIDIA; SoftBank co-led it.
The dates given do not settle whether this fell inside the role; at least one is an announcement date or is not stated.
This is a commitment, not a completed act. OpenAI, 27 Feb 2026; OpenAI, 31 Mar 2026
Sam Altman was named as a donor that committed to support OpenAI (by 11 Dec 2015, end not stated)
Named in OpenAI’s launch post among the funders donating to support it; the post gives one combined commitment for all of them and no individual amount.
The dates given do not settle whether this fell inside the role; at least one is an announcement date or is not stated.
This is a commitment, not a completed act. OpenAI, 11 Dec 2015
Amazon was named as a donor that committed to support OpenAI (by 11 Dec 2015, end not stated)
Listed in OpenAI’s launch post as Amazon Web Services, among the funders donating to support it; the post gives one combined commitment for all of them and no individual amount.
The dates given do not settle whether this fell inside the role; at least one is an announcement date or is not stated.
This is a commitment, not a completed act. OpenAI, 11 Dec 2015
Greg Brockman was named as a donor that committed to support OpenAI (by 11 Dec 2015, end not stated)
Named in OpenAI’s launch post among the funders donating to support it; the post gives one combined commitment for all of them and no individual amount.
The dates given do not settle whether this fell inside the role; at least one is an announcement date or is not stated.
This is a commitment, not a completed act. OpenAI, 11 Dec 2015
Reid Hoffman was named as a donor that committed to support OpenAI (by 11 Dec 2015, end not stated)
Named in OpenAI’s launch post among the funders donating to support it; the post gives one combined commitment for all of them and no individual amount.
The dates given do not settle whether this fell inside the role; at least one is an announcement date or is not stated.
This is a commitment, not a completed act. OpenAI, 11 Dec 2015
Infosys was named as a donor that committed to support OpenAI (by 11 Dec 2015, end not stated)
Named in OpenAI’s launch post among the funders donating to support it; the post gives one combined commitment for all of them and no individual amount.
The dates given do not settle whether this fell inside the role; at least one is an announcement date or is not stated.
This is a commitment, not a completed act. OpenAI, 11 Dec 2015
Jessica Livingston was named as a donor that committed to support OpenAI (by 11 Dec 2015, end not stated)
Named in OpenAI’s launch post among the funders donating to support it; the post gives one combined commitment for all of them and no individual amount.
The dates given do not settle whether this fell inside the role; at least one is an announcement date or is not stated.
This is a commitment, not a completed act. OpenAI, 11 Dec 2015
Elon Musk was named as a donor that committed to support OpenAI (by 11 Dec 2015, end not stated)
Named in OpenAI’s launch post among the funders donating to support it; the post gives one combined commitment for all of them and no individual amount.
The dates given do not settle whether this fell inside the role; at least one is an announcement date or is not stated.
This is a commitment, not a completed act. OpenAI, 11 Dec 2015
Peter Thiel was named as a donor that committed to support OpenAI (by 11 Dec 2015, end not stated)
Named in OpenAI’s launch post among the funders donating to support it; the post gives one combined commitment for all of them and no individual amount.
The dates given do not settle whether this fell inside the role; at least one is an announcement date or is not stated.
This is a commitment, not a completed act. OpenAI, 11 Dec 2015
YC Research was named as a donor that committed to support OpenAI (by 11 Dec 2015, end not stated)
Named in OpenAI’s launch post among the funders donating to support it; the post gives one combined commitment for all of them and no individual amount.
The dates given do not settle whether this fell inside the role; at least one is an announcement date or is not stated.
This is a commitment, not a completed act. OpenAI, 11 Dec 2015
What their companies have in common
Worked out from the relationships, never typed. This is about company funding only. It does not say the two people have a personal, financial or working relationship.
Sam Altman and Dario Amodei
- Both held a role at OpenAI.
- Amazon is named as a funder of OpenAI, a company where Sam Altman held a role, and of Anthropic, a company where Dario Amodei held one (OpenAI: a commitment) (the dates given do not settle this: at least one is an announcement date or is not stated).
- Microsoft is named as a funder of OpenAI, a company where Sam Altman held a role, and of Anthropic, a company where Dario Amodei held one (Anthropic: a commitment) (the dates given do not settle this: at least one is an announcement date or is not stated).
- NVIDIA is named as a funder of OpenAI, a company where Sam Altman held a role, and of Anthropic, a company where Dario Amodei held one (OpenAI: a commitment; Anthropic: a commitment) (the dates given do not settle this: at least one is an announcement date or is not stated).
This is about company funding only. It does not say the two people have a personal, financial or working relationship.
Sam Altman and Jensen Huang
- NVIDIA committed capital to OpenAI’s funding round (a commitment). NVIDIA is a company where Jensen Huang held a role, and OpenAI one where Sam Altman did (the dates given do not settle this: at least one is an announcement date or is not stated).
This is about company funding only. It does not say the two people have a personal, financial or working relationship.
Dated news
Chosen by hand, not fetched live. Each line says who announced or reported what; “as reported by” would mark a secondary source. Newest first.
OpenAI announced that it had closed its funding round with $122 billion in committed capital at an $852 billion post-money valuation, anchored by Amazon, NVIDIA and SoftBank, with continued participation from Microsoft.
OpenAI announced $110 billion in new investment at a $730 billion pre-money valuation, including $30 billion from SoftBank, $30 billion from NVIDIA and $50 billion from Amazon, and said further financial investors were expected to join.
OpenAI described a new structure: the nonprofit became OpenAI Foundation and the for-profit became OpenAI Group PBC, in which it says Microsoft holds roughly 27%. Its page lists Sam Altman on the Foundation board as CEO.
NVIDIA and OpenAI announced a letter of intent under which NVIDIA intends to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI progressively as each gigawatt of NVIDIA systems is deployed.
OpenAI announced that Sam Altman would rejoin its board, with three new members: Sue Desmond-Hellmann, Nicole Seligman and Fidji Simo.
OpenAI’s special committee said that the law firm WilmerHale had completed its review of the events of 17 November 2023, and that the board had expressed full confidence in the ongoing leadership of Sam Altman and Greg Brockman.
This is OpenAI’s own account of its review, as published by OpenAI. No other party’s account is recorded here.
In the summary it published, OpenAI said WilmerHale found a breakdown in trust between the prior board and Sam Altman, and that the prior board’s decision did not arise from concerns about product safety or security, the pace of development, OpenAI’s finances, or its statements to investors, customers or business partners.
This is OpenAI’s own summary of the review’s findings, as published by OpenAI. No other party’s account is recorded here.
In the summary it published, OpenAI said WilmerHale found that the prior Board acted within its broad discretion to terminate Mr. Altman, but also found that his conduct did not mandate removal, and that WilmerHale concluded that the statement accurately recounted the prior Board’s decision and rationales.
This is OpenAI’s own summary of the review’s findings, as published by OpenAI. No other party’s account is recorded here.
OpenAI announced that Sam Altman would return as CEO and named a new initial board: Bret Taylor (chair), Larry Summers and Adam D’Angelo.
OpenAI’s board announced that Sam Altman would depart as CEO and leave the board, and that Mira Murati would serve as interim CEO. It said his departure followed a deliberative review process, which it said concluded that he was “not consistently candid in his communications with the board”, and that it no longer had confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI.
This is OpenAI’s board’s own account, as published by OpenAI. No other party’s account is recorded here.
Y Combinator published Sam Altman’s post announcing that Geoff Ralston would take over from him as YC’s president; he wrote that he would remain an advisor to YC.
OpenAI announced its launch as a non-profit research company with Sam Altman and Elon Musk as co-chairs, and said its funders had committed $1 billion in total, of which it expected to spend a tiny fraction in the next few years.
Their part of the graph
- Founded
- Held a role
- Board seat
- Donated to
- Invested in
- In a funding round
- Thinner and fainter: a commitment, not a completed act
- Person
- Company
- Board
- Investor or donor
Roles and board seats
Funding, by company
OpenAI
Sources
- Geoff Ralston for President · Y Combinator · primary source · published 20 May 2019 · read 1 Nov 2026
- Introducing OpenAI · OpenAI · primary source · published 11 Dec 2015 · read 1 Nov 2026
- Microsoft and OpenAI extend partnership · Microsoft · primary source · published 23 Jan 2023 · read 1 Nov 2026
- NVIDIA annual report on Form 10-K, fiscal year ended January 25, 2026 · NVIDIA, filed with the SEC · primary source · undated page · read 1 Nov 2026
- OpenAI and NVIDIA Announce Strategic Partnership to Deploy 10 Gigawatts of NVIDIA Systems · NVIDIA · primary source · published 22 Sep 2025 · read 1 Nov 2026
- OpenAI announces leadership transition · OpenAI · primary source · published 17 Nov 2023 · read 1 Nov 2026
- OpenAI announces new members to board of directors · OpenAI · primary source · published 8 Mar 2024 · read 1 Nov 2026
- OpenAI LP · OpenAI · primary source · published 11 Mar 2019 · read 1 Nov 2026
- OpenAI raises $122 billion to accelerate the next phase of AI · OpenAI · primary source · published 31 Mar 2026 · read 1 Nov 2026
- Our structure · OpenAI · primary source · undated page · read 1 Nov 2026
- Review completed & Altman, Brockman to continue to lead OpenAI · OpenAI · primary source · published 8 Mar 2024 · read 1 Nov 2026
- Sam Altman returns as CEO, OpenAI has a new initial board · OpenAI · primary source · published 29 Nov 2023 · read 1 Nov 2026
- Scaling AI for everyone · OpenAI · primary source · published 27 Feb 2026 · read 1 Nov 2026
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