4 ms·

I'm a little bit surprised by these articles. I thought it was well known (or at least an open secret) that sama is one the most prolific tech investors? Yes, s

by gizmo 2y ago

I'm a little bit surprised by these articles. I thought it was well known (or at least an open secret) that sama is one the most prolific tech investors? Yes, sure, there are conflicts of interest but this is par for the course. If you make many bets and startups pivot to greener pastures then inevitably you end up up funding startups that compete head-on. When people take sama's money they know he has a stake in 400 other startups. But sama's network is also one of his great assets.

chrishare 2y ago
He either didn't disclose key commercial dealings to the OpenAI board, or purposefully concealed them. That's a big deal.
- danielmarkbruce 2y ago
  Anyone not living under a rock knew who he was. If someone has been investing for 10 years before taking a job, one can reasonably assume they are going to have a bunch of investments. It doesn't need to be 'disclosed'. What's next, someone will be surprised warren buffett owns some stocks outside berkshire?
  - chrishare 2y ago
    If you are a CEO, especially of a quasi non-profit, and you start a for-profit investment vehicle as part of this organisation, you should tell the board that.
    - danielmarkbruce 2y ago
      What makes you think they didn't know it existed?
  - ameister14 2y ago
    There is a huge difference between 'I have private investments' and 'I own a controlling interest in a fund I have been telling you is independent'
    - danielmarkbruce 2y ago
      The openai fund? I don't think you know what "own" or "controlling interest" mean.
      - ameister14 2y ago
        That's a bit rude, especially since you're wrong. Prior to Ian Hathaway's takeover a few months ago Sam Altman owned over 75% of the fund, according to their Form ADV filings with the SEC. I get why you're confused, though, given their use of fake filing names I think the ownership and structure of the OpenAI fund has been so opaque from the start it's actually hard to know who has what.
        danielmarkbruce 2y ago
        Find the filings, and read them. And understand what a limited partnership is, what the general partner does, and why saying "he owned 75% of the fund" is nonsensical. He didn't "own the fund", the new guy doesn't "own the fund". He was acting as GP and now another guy is acting as GP, in both cases through another entity. The structure of OpenAI isn't any more opaque than any other reasonable sized business and there are reasons for additional entities, it's not all about obfuscation.
        ameister14 2y ago
        I feel like you're being deliberately pedantic in a general sense and ignoring the terms of art here. Direct owner is a term that basically means someone who has ownership, beneficial ownership, voting rights, or rights to sell. Sam Altman was that. He was also an indirect owner through OpenAI Startup Fund GP I, which is the other entity you are talking about. You don't need either to be GP, though it can make things simpler. As far as the bundle of rights in ownership is concerned, yes, he did own the fund. Anyway, the obfuscation bit is from the filings with the state, not so much the SEC - there for a period of time OpenAI Startup Fund GP I was managed by Vespers, Inc. and had a bunch of registrants with fake names and fake directors and board members on the filings, all with the same address, an affordable housing unit in Santa Ana.

by gizmo 2y ago

chrishare 2y ago

He either didn't disclose key commercial dealings to the OpenAI board, or purposefully concealed them. That's a big deal.

danielmarkbruce 2y ago
Anyone not living under a rock knew who he was. If someone has been investing for 10 years before taking a job, one can reasonably assume they are going to have a bunch of investments. It doesn't need to be 'disclosed'. What's next, someone will be surprised warren buffett owns some stocks outside berkshire?
- chrishare 2y ago
  If you are a CEO, especially of a quasi non-profit, and you start a for-profit investment vehicle as part of this organisation, you should tell the board that.
  - danielmarkbruce 2y ago
    What makes you think they didn't know it existed?
- ameister14 2y ago
  There is a huge difference between 'I have private investments' and 'I own a controlling interest in a fund I have been telling you is independent'
  - danielmarkbruce 2y ago
    The openai fund? I don't think you know what "own" or "controlling interest" mean.
    - ameister14 2y ago
      That's a bit rude, especially since you're wrong. Prior to Ian Hathaway's takeover a few months ago Sam Altman owned over 75% of the fund, according to their Form ADV filings with the SEC. I get why you're confused, though, given their use of fake filing names I think the ownership and structure of the OpenAI fund has been so opaque from the start it's actually hard to know who has what.
      - danielmarkbruce 2y ago
        Find the filings, and read them. And understand what a limited partnership is, what the general partner does, and why saying "he owned 75% of the fund" is nonsensical. He didn't "own the fund", the new guy doesn't "own the fund". He was acting as GP and now another guy is acting as GP, in both cases through another entity. The structure of OpenAI isn't any more opaque than any other reasonable sized business and there are reasons for additional entities, it's not all about obfuscation.
        ameister14 2y ago
        I feel like you're being deliberately pedantic in a general sense and ignoring the terms of art here. Direct owner is a term that basically means someone who has ownership, beneficial ownership, voting rights, or rights to sell. Sam Altman was that. He was also an indirect owner through OpenAI Startup Fund GP I, which is the other entity you are talking about. You don't need either to be GP, though it can make things simpler. As far as the bundle of rights in ownership is concerned, yes, he did own the fund. Anyway, the obfuscation bit is from the filings with the state, not so much the SEC - there for a period of time OpenAI Startup Fund GP I was managed by Vespers, Inc. and had a bunch of registrants with fake names and fake directors and board members on the filings, all with the same address, an affordable housing unit in Santa Ana.