OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar Discusses Company's Future, AI Advancements, and Political Landscape

OpenAI's CFO Says a Fully For-Profit Structure Is the 'Right Answer for Us'

The OpenAI executive claims the timeline for major A.I. breakthroughs is shorter than the public expects. In June, OpenAI tapped Sarah Friar, then CEO of the neighborhood social networking app Nextdoor, to serve as its first chief financial officer. Friar's short tenure has already been an eventful one, with OpenAI recently raising $6.6 billion in a massive round that valued the company at a staggering $157 billion. Now, Friar is overseeing the company's transition from a capped-profit arm under a nonprofit to a fully for-profit one. Sign Up For Our Daily Newsletter Sign Up Thank you for signing up! By clicking submit, you agree to our <a href="http://observermedia.com/terms">terms of service</a> and acknowledge we may use your information to send you emails, product samples, and promotions on this website and other properties. You can opt out anytime. See all of our newsletters "We're on the journey," Friar said of the transition during an onstage interview at the Reuters NEXT conference in New York yesterday (Dec. 10). She noted that a "more traditional corporate structure is likely the right answer for us" given OpenAI's rapidly surging revenue and ballooning need for funds to underpin its compute and data ambitions. OpenAI currently has 300 million weekly users, according to Friar, up from 250 million in October and 200 million in August. The company's paid users account for around 75 percent of the company's revenue, which is expected to total at $3.7 billion this year and skyrocket to $11.6 billion in 2025. The company's hunger for expensive computing resources has also caused some cracks in its $14 billion strategic partnership with Microsoft. Despite lauding their relationship as "almost age-defining," Friar conceded that OpenAI's "big appetite" for compute has already led the company to explore alternative options, such as a deal struck with Oracle this summer that will provide OpenAI access to more computing capacity. The OpenAI and Microsoft deal reportedly includes a clause that stipulates the A.I. partnership must end once OpenAI achieves artificial general intelligence (A.G.I.), a form of A.I. with capabilities that match or exceed those of humans. OpenAI is potentially looking to toss this provision in order to keep its valuable partnership going, as reported by the Financial Times. "I think about it less as this moment of declaring A.G.I. and more about how do we as partners continue to both maintain what's very good in our relationship, in terms of helping each other grow, but also recognizing that diversification is a good thing as well," Friar said when asked about her vision for OpenAI and Microsoft going forward. It might need to act fast, as the timeline for advanced A.I. capabilities could be around the corner, according to Friar. "I don't believe it's a decade," she said. "People are going to be surprised at how fast this technology comes at us." When asked about the influence the incoming Trump administration and its advisors might exert on OpenAI and the broader A.I. community, Friar lauded Trump as "the president of this A.I. generation." "He's going to be right there at the beginning of it; maybe even as things like A.G.I. get there," she said. Another figure set to play a role in shaping the new administration's tech policy is Elon Musk, who has close ties to Trump and will co-head a newly created advisory group focused on cost-cutting within the federal government. An OpenAI co-founder, Musk has become one of the company's most significant rivals via his own A.I. startup xAI and is currently involved in litigation against the A.I. company. Despite OpenAI's tensions with Musk, Friar said the ChatGPT-maker "trusts" that Musk will prioritize "national interest and compete appropriately." Her comments echoed those made earlier this month by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who suggested it would be "un-American" for Musk to use his newfound political power to harm rivals.

OpenAI CFO sees Trump as AI president, trusts Musk to prioritise national interest

Elon Musk, who cofounded OpenAI, has publicly opposed OpenAI's major corporate structure revamping to remove control of its nonprofit board. He now runs xAI, an OpenAI competitor, and has emerged as a close adviser in Trump's transition team. President-elect Donald Trump could be the "president of this AI generation" as he will take office at a time when critical infrastructure to developing artificial general intelligence (AGI) is built out, OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar said. "He's going to be right there at the beginning of it, maybe even as things like AGI, we get there," she said on Tuesday, referring to autonomous systems that surpass humans in most economically valuable tasks. She also played down public threats to the ChatGPT maker from Elon Musk, one of Trump's closest advisers. Friar, in response to questions from Reuters Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galloni during an interview at the Reuters NEXT conference in New York, said about Musk's threats: "We trust him...as a competitor, (he) will put first the national interest and compete appropriately." Musk, who cofounded OpenAI, has publicly opposed OpenAI's major corporate structure revamping to remove control of its nonprofit board. He now runs xAI, an OpenAI competitor, and has emerged as a close adviser in Trump's transition team. Trump has chosen him, along with former Republican presidential candidate and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, to head a task force aimed at slashing government spending and regulations. Friar, who previously led social media firm Nextdoor and joined OpenAI six months ago as its first chief financial officer, said the company has seen huge demand for its video generation tool Sora, which was released this week. Account creation has been suspended since then, and Friar did not offer a specific timeline for when it would resume. "Some of it is just we need capacity, but a lot of it is also we want to be measured...it's only available to a very small selection of people today, because we want to listen and learn," said Friar, adding the company is taking a different release approach for Sora from ChatGPT. "There are places where we will go a little slower to make sure that we are constantly moving safety first as well." Besides video generation, she said she also anticipates more AI agent products - software programs that perform tasks autonomously on behalf of users - can handle day-to-day tasks to be released in the new year, with foundation models gaining better reasoning capabilities. "I think we are going to see a lot of motion next year around agents, and I think people are going to be surprised at how fast this technology comes at us," she said. The fast-growing startup is also working on developing a new dynamic with its largest investor and tech partner, Microsoft . "We think about it ... in terms of helping each other grow, but also recognizing that diversification is a good thing as well, in terms of growing the whole industry," Friar added. Despite the controversy over its governance restructuring and the recent exodus of executives, OpenAI continues to experience rapid expansion, she said. Friar said the company sees a "re-acceleration" in ChatGPT user growth, which surged to 300 million weekly active users from 200 million in August this year, attributing it to the launch of new reasoning models such as o1.

OpenAI CFO Friar says she trusts Musk to prioritize national interest

NEW YORK (Reuters) - OpenAI's Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar played down on Tuesday public threats to the ChatGPT maker from Elon Musk, one of President-elect Donald Trump's closest advisors. Friar, in response to questions from Reuters Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galloni during an interview at the Reuters NEXT conference in New York, said about Musk's threats: "We trust him...as a competitor, (he) will put first the national interest and compete appropriately." Musk, who co-founded OpenAI, has publicly opposed OpenAI's major corporate structure revamping to remove control of its nonprofit board. He now runs xAI, an OpenAI competitor, and has emerged as a close advisor in Trump's transition team. Trump has chosen him, along with former Republican presidential candidate and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, to head a task force aimed at slashing government spending and regulations. Friar, who previously led social media firm Nextdoor and joined OpenAI six months ago as its first CFO, said the company has seen huge demand for its video generation tool Sora, which was released earlier this week. Account creation has been suspended since then, and Friar didn't offer a specific timeline for when it would resume. "Some of it is just we need capacity, but a lot of it is also we want to be measured...it's only available to a very small selection of people today, because we want to listen and learn," said Friar, adding the company is taking a different release approach for Sora from ChatGPT. "There are places where we will go a little slower to make sure that we are constantly moving safety first as well." Besides video generation, she said she also anticipates more AI agent products that can handle day-to-day tasks to be released in the new year, with foundation models gaining better reasoning capabilities. "I think we are going to see a lot of motion next year around agents, and I think people are going to be surprised at how fast this technology comes at us," she said. The fast-growing startup is also working on developing a new dynamic with its largest investor and tech partner, Microsoft. "We think about it ... in terms of helping each other grow, but also recognizing that diversification is a good thing as well, in terms of growing the whole industry," Friar added. Despite the controversy over its governance restructuring and the recent exodus of executives, OpenAI continues to experience rapid expansion, she said. Friar said the company sees a "re-acceleration" in ChatGPT user growth, which surged to 300 million weekly active users from 200 million in August this year, attributing it to the launch of new reasoning models such as o1. (Reporting by Krystal Hu in New York; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

OpenAI CFO Friar says she trusts Musk to prioritize national interest

NEW YORK, Dec 10 (Reuters) - OpenAI's Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar played down on Tuesday public threats to the ChatGPT maker from Elon Musk, one of President-elect Donald Trump's closest advisors. Friar, in response to questions from Reuters Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galloni during an interview at the Reuters NEXT conference in New York, said about Musk's threats: "We trust him...as a competitor, (he) will put first the national interest and compete appropriately." Musk, who co-founded OpenAI, has publicly opposed OpenAI's major corporate structure revamping to remove control of its nonprofit board. He now runs xAI, an OpenAI competitor, and has emerged as a close advisor in Trump's transition team. Trump has chosen him, along with former Republican presidential candidate and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, to head a task force aimed at slashing government spending and regulations. Friar, who previously led social media firm Nextdoor and joined OpenAI six months ago as its first CFO, said the company has seen huge demand for its video generation tool Sora, which was released earlier this week. Account creation has been suspended since then, and Friar didn't offer a specific timeline for when it would resume. "Some of it is just we need capacity, but a lot of it is also we want to be measured...it's only available to a very small selection of people today, because we want to listen and learn," said Friar, adding the company is taking a different release approach for Sora from ChatGPT. "There are places where we will go a little slower to make sure that we are constantly moving safety first as well." Besides video generation, she said she also anticipates more AI agent products that can handle day-to-day tasks to be released in the new year, with foundation models gaining better reasoning capabilities. "I think we are going to see a lot of motion next year around agents, and I think people are going to be surprised at how fast this technology comes at us," she said. The fast-growing startup is also working on developing a new dynamic with its largest investor and tech partner, Microsoft. "We think about it ... in terms of helping each other grow, but also recognizing that diversification is a good thing as well, in terms of growing the whole industry," Friar added. Despite the controversy over its governance restructuring and the recent exodus of executives, OpenAI continues to experience rapid expansion, she said. Friar said the company sees a "re-acceleration" in ChatGPT user growth, which surged to 300 million weekly active users from 200 million in August this year, attributing it to the launch of new reasoning models such as o1. Reporting by Krystal Hu in New York; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Suggested Topics:Artificial Intelligence Krystal Hu Thomson Reuters Krystal reports on venture capital and startups for Reuters. She covers Silicon Valley and beyond through the lens of money and characters, with a focus on growth-stage startups, tech investments and AI. She has previously covered M&A for Reuters, breaking stories on Trump's SPAC and Elon Musk's Twitter financing. Previously, she reported on Amazon for Yahoo Finance, and her investigation of the company's retail practice was cited by lawmakers in Congress. Krystal started a career in journalism by writing about tech and politics in China. She has a master's degree from New York University, and enjoys a scoop of Matcha ice cream as much as getting a scoop at work.

OpenAI CFO Sees Trump as the AI President

President-elect Donald Trump could be the "president of this AI generation" as he will take office at a time when critical infrastructure to developing artificial general intelligence (AGI) is built out, OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar said. "He's going to be right there at the beginning of it, maybe even as things like AGI, we get there," she said on Tuesday, referring to autonomous systems that surpass humans in most economically valuable tasks. She also played down public threats to the ChatGPT maker from Elon Musk, one of Trump's closest advisers. Friar, in response to questions from Reuters Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galloni during an interview at the Reuters NEXT conference in New York, said about Musk's threats: "We trust him...as a competitor, (he) will put first the national interest and compete appropriately."

OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar Calls Trump The 'President Of This AI Generation,' Downplays Elon Musk Concerns: 'We Trust Him... As A Competitor'

OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar has characterized President-elect Donald Trump as the "president of this AI generation," while downplaying public threats from Elon Musk. What Happened: During an interview at the Reuters NEXT conference in New York on Tuesday, Friar highlighted that Trump is taking office during a pivotal moment in the development of critical infrastructure for advancing artificial general intelligence. She also addressed concerns about Musk, a close adviser to Trump, stating, "We trust him...as a competitor," and expressed confidence that the Tesla CEO would prioritize national interests. See Also: Trump Announces Plans To Have Dinner With Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos As Billionaire Rivals Turn Unexpected Allies After Years Of Clashes Friar, who joined OpenAI six months ago, also spoke about the demand for their new video generation tool, Sora. Account creation for Sora has been paused to ensure a measured release. Why It Matters: Musk, who co-founded OpenAI, has been critical of its corporate restructuring. The tech mogul now leads xAI, a competitor to ChatGPT-parent. Trump has also appointed Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, which aims to cut federal spending by up to $2 trillion. Subscribe to the Benzinga Tech Trends newsletter to get all the latest tech developments delivered to your inbox. Earlier, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also expressed confidence in Musk's integrity despite his political ties. "I may turn out to be wrong, but I believe pretty strongly that Elon will do the right thing." Earlier this month, Musk filed a court injunction to block OpenAI's shift to a for-profit organization. This legal action comes after Musk previously sued OpenAI, alleging that the company was placing commercial interests above its initial mission. Meanwhile, OpenAI is reportedly strengthening its partnership with Microsoft Corporation. Previously it was reported that OpenAI's board is considering removing a provision that currently limits Microsoft's access to its AGI technology. Check out more of Benzinga's Consumer Tech coverage by following this link. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/MoneyConf via Sportsfile via Flickr Creative commons; OpenAI, Shutterstock Read Next: Apple Faces $1.2B Lawsuit Over Child Sexual Abuse Material Detection On iCloud -- Tech Giant Says, 'Urgently And Actively Innovating' Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs