Sam Altman announced that he has invested over $1.6 billion in Helion, a nuclear energy startup, which is currently negotiating a power purchase agreement with OpenAI. This investment is a significant increase from the $375 million he invested in November 2021 during a Series E funding round. During a lawsuit regarding OpenAI’s commercial interests, documents revealed that Altman owns approximately a third of Helion and has stock options for more shares.
In addition to Helion, Altman has substantial stakes in other tech firms: $632 million in Stripe, $258 million in Retro Biosciences, $19 million in Trialspark (now Formation Bio), and $3 million in AI chipmaker Cerebras. The lawsuit, brought by Elon Musk, accuses Altman and others of exploiting a charity Musk helped establish by partnering with Microsoft for revenue generation from ChatGPT.
Former OpenAI board member Shivon Zilis expressed concerns about the Helion-OpenAI deal due to Altman’s dual role as investor and founder. In court, Altman clarified that he discussed the agreement with OpenAI but had not signed it, emphasizing his ongoing withdrawal from Helion. The legal proceedings also touched on Altman’s relationship with Reddit, where he maintained substantial stock before and after its IPO, leading to questions about potential conflicts of interest in a subsequent licensing agreement with OpenAI.
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