The Leadership Letter

Real correspondence from the people running real companies — and what it reveals about leadership.

Design The Structure Before You Need The Money

When your mission and your capital needs collide, invent the vehicle first — then go raise.

Elon- Here is a draft post we are planning for Monday. Anything to add/edit? TL;DR: We've created the capped-profit company and raised the first round, led by Reid and Vinod. We did this in a way where all investors are clear that they should never expect a profit. We made Greg chairman and me CEO of the new entity. We have tested this structure with potential next-round investors and they seem to like it. Speaking of the last point, we are now discussing a multi-billion dollar investment which I would like to get your advice on when you have time.

We've created OpenAI LP, a new 'capped-profit' company that allows us to rapidly increase our investments in compute and talent while including checks and balances to actualize our mission. Our mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence (AGI) benefits all of humanity, primarily by attempting to build safe AGI and share the benefits with the world.

The fundamental idea of OpenAI LP is that investors and employees can get a fixed return if we succeed at our mission, which allows us to raise investment capital and attract employees with startup-like equity. But any returns beyond that amount are owned by the original OpenAI Nonprofit entity. OpenAI LP's primary fiduciary obligation is to advance the aims of the OpenAI Charter, and the company is controlled by OpenAI Nonprofit's board. All investors and employees sign agreements that OpenAI LP's obligation to the Charter always comes first, even at the expense of some or all of their financial stake.

This edition is for members — but the daily letter is free.

One real corporate email, and the lesson it teaches, in your inbox every weekday morning. Free. Unsubscribe in one click.

Want this edition and the full searchable archive?

Start your free week →What members get →
Court Exhibit
Musk v. Altman (OpenAI)
4:24-cv-04722 (CAND), Doc. 379-88, filed 2026-01-06
March 6, 2019
Public domain
View the primary source →