According to recent reports, OpenAI, a leading player in artificial intelligence (AI), could be transitioning from its intricate non-profit organization framework to a conventional profit-making enterprise by 2025. This could possibly amplify the company’s valuation to a whopping $150 billion, aligning it with the profit-oriented business models of its contemporaries in Silicon Valley.

This development was initially reported by Fortune, citing remarks from CEO Sam Altman during a routine OpenAI staff meeting. While Altman didn’t divulge much, he did reaffirm that OpenAI was poised to transition from its non-profit governance, having outgrown its initial set-up.

At present, OpenAI works as a “capped” for-profit LLC supervised by a non-profit entity. This organizational structure led to the dismissal of Sam Altman as CEO by OpenAI’s board of directors, a constituent of the non-profit parent structure, in November 2023. Altman was accused of deceit and obstruction of the non-profit board’s work and OpenAI’s safety protocols, including withholding information about his ownership of the OpenAI startup fund. Nonetheless, Altman was later reinstated and assumed control of OpenAI’s restructured internal safety team.

As the year unfolds, Altman and the OpenAI leadership are steering an expanding billion-dollar enterprise. Recently, buzzes about Apple investing in the AI startup circulated, following the footsteps of other major sponsors like Microsoft, potentially driving its valuation above $100 billion. A Reuters report, published the same day as the Fortune article, quoted anonymous sources suggesting that investors are linking their capital infusions to OpenAI’s decision to lift its profit cap, potentially leading to changes or dissolution of the non-profit controlling body.

A representative from OpenAI assured Fortune and Reuters that the company’s non-profit section is “crucial to our goals and it will persist,” emphasizing that OpenAI remains “committed to developing AI that is beneficial to all.”