Link: The Opaque Investment Empire Making OpenAI’s Sam Altman Rich - WSJ

Altman’s arrangement—where much of his wealth is tied up in outside ventures but not OpenAI—pushes the boundaries of traditional corporate governance, according to tech lawyers and venture capitalists. Most startup founders have their wealth tied to their companies, fueling motivation to make their companies succeed. Few are ever in a position where they stand to make more money by benefiting the business on the other side of the table. Beyond Helion, Altman has steered OpenAI’s business to at least one other startup he backed. In 2019, OpenAI signed a letter of intent to buy $51 million worth of AI chips from Rain AI, a startup he backed the prior year. Wired earlier reported on the deal. “Is he going to have OpenAI acquire these companies at big prices? Is he going to leverage OpenAI resources to help his other companies? That’s what you kind of really worry about, especially if he owns zero of OpenAI,” said Louis Lehot, a partner at the law firm Foley and Lardner, where he advises startups on corporate governance. #

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Yoooo, this is a quick note on a link that made me go, WTF? Find all past links here.