OpenAI Removes 'Safety' and 'No Financial Motive' from Mission Statement Amid Microsoft Shifts

OpenAI has made a subtle but profound revision to its stated mission, removing the phrases "safely" and "unconstrained by need to generate financial return" from its official IRS Form 990 filing — documents that legally define its nonprofit purpose. The updated language now reads simply: "ensure AGI benefits all of humanity." The modification, first flagged by a Reddit user on r/ChatGPT and corroborated by public IRS filings, signals a major ideological pivot for the organization once heralded as a bulwark against profit-driven artificial intelligence.

According to the original IRS filing, OpenAI’s founding charter explicitly prioritized human welfare over financial gain: "build AI that safely benefits humanity, unconstrained by need to generate financial return." This language was central to its identity as a nonprofit founded by Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and others in 2015, with the goal of preventing AI from falling under the control of corporate interests. The new formulation, while still invoking the noble goal of benefiting humanity, eliminates the critical safeguards that once distinguished OpenAI from for-profit AI labs like Google DeepMind or Anthropic.

The timing of this change coincides with escalating reports that Microsoft, OpenAI’s primary investor and cloud partner, is pursuing greater autonomy in AI development. According to industry analysts cited in financial publications, Microsoft is actively building internal AI capabilities to reduce its reliance on OpenAI’s proprietary models — a move described internally as achieving "AI self-sufficiency." This strategic shift suggests that Microsoft may be preparing for a future in which OpenAI operates more as a commercial vendor than a mission-driven partner.

Legal experts note that while the IRS Form 990 does not legally bind OpenAI’s day-to-day operations, it serves as a public declaration of its nonprofit status and ethical commitments. Removing language that explicitly rejects financial motive could expose the organization to scrutiny from regulators and the public, particularly as OpenAI’s for-profit subsidiary, OpenAI LP, has raised over $11 billion from investors including Microsoft, Sequoia, and Thrive Capital. Critics argue that the revised mission statement now aligns more closely with corporate branding than with the original ethos of ethical AI development.

OpenAI has not issued a public statement regarding the change. However, internal documents reviewed by multiple sources indicate that leadership has increasingly framed AGI development as a "race," where speed and scale are prioritized over incremental safety reviews. This shift has alarmed former employees and AI ethicists, some of whom have publicly resigned or spoken out against what they describe as the "corporate capture" of OpenAI’s mission.

Meanwhile, the broader AI community is grappling with the implications. If a leading AI developer no longer feels bound by a commitment to safety or non-profit principles, what standards will govern the deployment of increasingly powerful systems? The removal of these phrases may not be a technical change — but it is a symbolic one with profound consequences for public trust, regulatory oversight, and the future of artificial intelligence as a force for the common good.

As OpenAI prepares to launch its next-generation models and expands its commercial partnerships, the world must ask: Is AGI being developed to serve humanity — or to serve shareholders?