The nonprofit organization behind ChatGPT announced Tuesday it will distribute $1 billion in grants during the coming year while expanding its role as a major charitable funding source.
This announcement marks a significant expansion of OpenAI Foundation’s charitable work and provides clarity on how the organization plans to fulfill its original mission of developing artificial intelligence technology that serves all people worldwide.
“We aim to enable the use of AI to find solutions to humanity’s hardest problems, transform what people are capable of, and deliver real benefits in people’s lives — while working hard with partners to be ready for new challenges, and to help make society resilient, as AI advances,” OpenAI said in a statement Tuesday.
The organization plans to direct this new funding toward medical and life sciences research while addressing concerns about artificial intelligence’s effects on employment, economic stability, and psychological well-being, with particular attention to children’s mental health impacts.
This initiative builds upon a previous $25 billion commitment the foundation announced in October, though that earlier pledge did not specify a timeline for distribution.
The foundation also plans to hire a new executive director to manage its expanded grant distribution operations.
Originally established as a research nonprofit in 2015, OpenAI has worked to restructure its operations in recent years while developing commercial products like ChatGPT through its for-profit division, which has become one of the world’s most valuable startup companies.
Last October, OpenAI reached an agreement with government regulators that maintained the nonprofit board’s oversight of the commercial operations while creating more flexibility for investors and the company to generate profits. This arrangement also established the nonprofit’s ownership percentage in the company, which OpenAI valued at $130 billion, positioning it among the nation’s wealthiest nonprofit organizations.
Following the creation of its commercial arm in 2019, the nonprofit dramatically reduced its spending from $51 million in 2018 to just $3.3 million the next year, based on public tax documentation. According to the most recent filings with the Internal Revenue Service for 2024, the nonprofit received $4,433 in donations and awarded $7.6 million in grants.
Brian Mittendorf, an Ohio State University professor specializing in nonprofit accounting and public policy, warned that standard tax forms may not accurately reflect OpenAI’s activities or demonstrate how well the organization pursues its charitable goals.
“People tend to focus on the financial part of that,” said Mittendorf in an email. “Is the immense value creation being used to further a charitable objective? But an equally important piece is whether the product they are developing is serving humanity as they envisioned.”
During 2025, OpenAI worked to strengthen its nonprofit operations by establishing a temporary advisory board to provide non-binding recommendations on structuring its charitable activities while continuing discussions with regulators and investors about the nonprofit board’s continued control over business operations.
The advisory panel, which included labor activist Dolores Huerta, ultimately suggested that OpenAI substantially increase funding for its nonprofit activities and engage extensively with affected communities when developing its grant distribution strategy.
In December, the nonprofit announced $40.5 million in grants to community organizations focused on promoting AI education, strengthening civic engagement, and creating economic opportunities.
This expanded charitable vision emerges as communities nationwide express concerns about data centers driving up electricity prices, legal challenges claim AI chatbots worsen mental health problems, and organizations debate whether new AI technologies should be deployed in military applications.
