Back in 2016, the artificial intelligence maker OpenAI had just incorporated as a nonprofit and applied to the Internal Revenue Service for tax-exempt status. The application shows the vast distance OpenAI and the technology that it researches and develops has traveled in under a decade. At the time, OpenAI told the IRS it did not plan to enter into any joint ventures with for-profit organizations, which it has since. It also said it did “not plan to play any role in developing commercial products or equipment.” A spokesperson for OpenAI, Liz Bourgeois, said the organization’s mission has remained constant, though the way it’s carried it out has evolved.
