Names, versions and owners change fast. Checked October 2026.
In plain words
OpenAI is a company, not a product. It is based in San Francisco and was founded in December 2015 as a non-profit research lab. Its stated mission is to make sure that artificial general intelligence, AI that can do most work people do, benefits all of humanity.
Its work comes in two layers. Underneath are its models, chiefly the GPT family of large language models and the GPT Image models for pictures. On top are products people use: the ChatGPT app, the Codex coding agent, and an API that other companies use to build OpenAI's models into their own apps.
OpenAI has also closed products. Its image model DALL-E and its video app Sora were both retired in 2026. The box above shows its newest models and who leads it now.
Everyday example
An engine maker that also builds its own car
Some companies make engines and sell them to other carmakers, while also selling their own car with that engine inside. OpenAI works that way. GPT is the engine. ChatGPT is OpenAI's own car. Through its API, other firms buy the engine and fit it into their own products, from customer-service bots to writing tools.
Where the example breaks: An engine maker sells a fixed part. OpenAI's models run on its own servers and are rented per use, and they change as OpenAI retrains or replaces them.
Latestas of October 2026
- Chief executive
- Sam Altman
- Newest models
- The GPT-6 family: GPT-6 Astra (September 2026), and GPT-6 Sol and Luna in ChatGPT (from 7 October 2026)
- Structure
- OpenAI Group PBC since 28 October 2025, with the non-profit OpenAI Foundation as a major shareholder
- Microsoft deal
- Revised 27 April 2026: Azure stays OpenAI's primary cloud, but OpenAI can sell its products through any cloud
These details change often. The rest of this page explains what it is, which stays true.
How it actually works
OpenAI's structure has changed several times, which explains some confusing headlines.
A non-profit at the start
OpenAI began in 2015 as a non-profit research lab, with founders including Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Ilya Sutskever and Greg Brockman. Musk left its board in 2018.
A capped-profit arm
In 2019 OpenAI created a for-profit company, controlled by the non-profit, so it could raise the large sums needed for computing. Investors' returns were capped. Microsoft became a major investor and cloud partner.
A public benefit corporation
On 28 October 2025 the business became OpenAI Group PBC, a public benefit corporation, and the non-profit was renamed the OpenAI Foundation, which holds a large stake in it.
Models, then products
Its research produces models such as GPT, trained by pre-training on huge amounts of text and then shaped with RLHF. Those models then power its products and its API.
- Founded
- December 2015, San Francisco, as a non-profit
- Mission
- To ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity
- Main products
- ChatGPT, the Codex coding agent and the API for developers
- Retired in 2026
- DALL-E (May to August 2026) and Sora (April to September 2026)
Questions people ask
Is OpenAI the same as ChatGPT?
No. OpenAI is the company. ChatGPT is its best-known product, an app built on its GPT models. OpenAI also makes the Codex coding agent and sells access to its models to other businesses.
Who owns OpenAI?
Since October 2025, OpenAI's business has been OpenAI Group PBC. At that restructuring, reported stakes were about 26% for the non-profit OpenAI Foundation, about 27% for Microsoft, and the rest for employees and other investors.
Is OpenAI owned by Microsoft?
No. Microsoft is a major investor and partner and holds a large minority stake, but it does not own or control OpenAI. Microsoft uses OpenAI's models in products such as Copilot.
Is OpenAI still a non-profit?
Partly. The original non-profit still exists as the OpenAI Foundation. The business that builds and sells products is a for-profit public benefit corporation, a company legally required to weigh a public mission alongside profit.