Openai reversed the course as it transforms into a for-profit entity, announcing on Monday that its nonprofit division will continue to control operations that make ChatGpt and other artificial intelligence products. Previously, the company had sought more independent for-profit divisions.

"We decided that nonprofits remain in control after hearing news from the citizen leaders and discussing with the attorney generals of California and Delaware," CEO Sam Altman said in a letter to employees. Altman and OpenAI nonprofit committee chair Bret Taylor said the board has made choices for nonprofits to retain control of Openai.

A press release from the company said the for-profit part of the company (Altman is able to fund OpenAI's work through which it will transition to a public welfare company, a task-driven company designation for the company's structure that is still intended to be profitable but also "must take into account the interests of shareholders and tasks." The press release said nonprofits will retain control over the public welfare company as a major shareholder.

Openai’s co-founders, including Altman and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, started initially as a nonprofit research lab designed to safely build what is called artificial universal intelligence or AGI for the benefit of humanity. About a decade later, Openai reported $30 billion in its flagship product, Chatgpt, with $400 million in users per week.

Openai faces many challenges in transforming its core governance structure. One major roadblock is Musk’s lawsuit, who accused the company and Altman of betraying the founding principles that led Musk to invest in charities. Musk fell down with Altman and founded his own competitive AI company, XAI, which recently bought X, formerly known as Twitter. Openai made Musk a loser in the dispute in the success of his competitors.