OpenAI owes us $180 billion

Today, Explained

OpenAI's founders promised its tech would benefit humanity. Now that it has split into a giant charity and a for-profit company, that mission has gotten complicated.

This episode was produced by Danielle Hewitt, edited by Jolie Myers, fact-checked by Andrea López-Cruzado, engineered by Patrick Boyd and David Tatasciore, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram. This episode was produced in partnership with Vox's Future Perfect.

Disclosure: Vox Media is one of several publishers that have signed partnership agreements with OpenAI. Our reporting remains editorially independent.

Photo Illustration by Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images.

Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. New Vox members get $20 off their membership right now. Transcript at ⁠vox.com/today-explained-podcast.⁠

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OpenAI's founders promised its tech would benefit humanity. Now that it has split into a giant charity and a for-profit company, that mission has gotten complicated.

This episode was produced by Danielle Hewitt, edited by Jolie Myers, fact-checked by Andrea López-Cruzado, engineered by Patrick Boyd and David Tatasciore, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram. This episode was produced in partnership with Vox's Future Perfect.

Disclosure: Vox Media is one of several publishers that have signed partnership agreements with OpenAI. Our reporting remains editorially independent.

Photo Illustration by Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images.

Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. New Vox members get $20 off their membership right now. Transcript at ⁠vox.com/today-explained-podcast.⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2026-03-25 26 min
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