OpenAI remains privately held and requires the company's express written consent for any equity sale or transfer. Unauthorized attempts to sell OpenAI shares have emerged, including direct unsanctioned equity sales and special purpose vehicle (SPV) schemes that bundle stakes for multiple investors. Founders and investors report being inundated with cold pitches for SPVs tied to AI companies, with a range of legitimacy but frequent onerous fees and unfavorable terms. Observers characterize the market as a racket or "wild west," and OpenAI cautions that unauthorized schemes do not confer legitimate access or valid ownership.
OpenAI isn't a publicly-traded company - yet, at least - and as such, the company's express written consent is necessary for the sale or transfer of its equity. But that massive caveat has not, apparently, stopped sleazy operators from trying to rip would-be investors off with shady promises of buying into the red-hot artificial intelligence giant. In a new blog post, OpenAI warned that there are bad actors out there attempting to make "unauthorized opportunities to gain access" to the company.
In interviews with Business Insider, more than a dozen founders and investors said they've been overwhelmed by cold pitches for SVPs in companies like OpenAI and Anthropic; there's a spectrum of legitimacy to SVP schemes, but as a rule of thumb, it's a pretty dubious type of economic vehicle that often levy onerous fees or terms to move shares of hype-fueled stocks.
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