OpenAI adds Nubank and BNY CEOs to its boards ahead of possible IPO

OpenAI has added two finance veterans to its boards, a move that matters for investors watching one of the biggest private companies in artificial intelligence move closer to public markets. The company said Tuesday that Nubank CEO David Vélez and BNY CEO Robin Vince will serve on both its nonprofit and for-profit boards.

Vélez leads Nubank, which OpenAI described as the largest digital bank in Latin America. Vince runs BNY, a financial services company. OpenAI said in a statement that the two executives bring “complementary perspectives on how technology can reshape industries and drive economic growth.”

The appointments come as OpenAI is preparing for a potential initial public offering, according to CNBC. An initial public offering, or IPO, is when a private company sells shares to public investors for the first time, giving everyday investors a possible path to own the stock while also subjecting the company to public-market scrutiny.

CNBC reported that OpenAI is valued at more than $850 billion and confidentially filed its prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission in June. A prospectus is the document companies use to give regulators and, eventually, investors key information about the business and the planned offering. OpenAI has not announced an official timetable for a market debut, CNBC reported.

Why the board additions matter

Board composition can matter more as a company approaches public markets. Directors help oversee strategy, risk, executive leadership and governance. For a business as closely watched as OpenAI, adding leaders from banking and financial services may signal a push to broaden expertise as the company grows and faces more investor attention.

Bret Taylor, chair of the OpenAI Foundation and OpenAI Group PBC boards, said in OpenAI’s statement that Vélez and Vince have used technology to change financial services and expand opportunity globally. Taylor said their experience will be valuable as OpenAI serves more businesses and people while working to ensure AI benefits everyone.

The new directors join a board that already includes Taylor, the former co-CEO of Salesforce, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Other board members are Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, health-care executive Dr. Sue Desmond-Hellmann, Carnegie Mellon University professor Zico Kolter, retired U.S. Army General Paul Nakasone, Global Infrastructure Partners co-founder Adebayo Ogunlesi and former Sony executive Nicole Seligman, according to CNBC.

OpenAI’s unusual structure

OpenAI completed a recapitalization in October that confirmed its structure as a nonprofit, the OpenAI Foundation, with a controlling stake in its for-profit business, OpenAI Group PBC, CNBC reported. A recapitalization is a restructuring of a company’s ownership or financial setup.

At the time, OpenAI said the nonprofit’s equity was valued at about $130 billion, according to CNBC. The company has described the foundation as one of the best-funded nonprofits in the world.

OpenAI’s governance has been under the microscope since 2023, when Altman was briefly removed as CEO after prior board members said he was “not consistently candid in his communications,” CNBC reported. Altman returned after several days of negotiations and was restored to the board in March 2024.

For retail investors, the latest board changes do not create a public stock to trade today. They do add another marker to watch as OpenAI builds the governance structure around a company that could become one of the most closely followed IPO candidates in the market.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.