(Bloomberg) — Artificial intelligence startup OpenAI has a strong, very technical team in place despite the number of recent departures, said Vinod Khosla, an early investor in the company.
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OpenAI was valued at $157 billion in its latest funding round, making it one of the largest VC-backed startups in the world. In an interview Friday on Bloomberg Television, Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, said that the high rate of executive turnover at the firm didn’t worry him, and that he’s a supporter of Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman.
As part of the funding round, Altman could take an equity stake — a common arrangement that investors like because it aligns a founder’s interest with their own, but one that’s also raised eyebrows for OpenAI because Altman’s stake could be worth billions. Khosla said the question of equity for Altman is “for the board to decide.” Adding, “It’s far from his highest priority.”
Khosla said he believes in the transformative potential of AI technology. “It’s the most important tool we’ve had in human history for creating abundance, and creating a fairer, more equitable, well-off society,” he said.
In the meantime, he said he’s used OpenAI’s flagship product, ChatGPT, for more prosaic tasks — ranging from quickly learning complicated material to designing his garden.
–With assistance from Edward Ludlow.
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