Internal strife intensifies at OpenAI ahead of its IPO push: Frequent executive departures and security team restructuring spark concerns.

According to a Financial Times report, OpenAI has been making ongoing organizational adjustments in preparation for a potential initial public offering (IPO), undergoing nearly five restructurings this year. The exits of multiple senior executives have sparked internal unrest. This week, Denise Dresser, chief revenue officer in charge of enterprise client expansion, announced her resignation. Earlier, other senior leaders including former chief financial officer and chief operating officer Brad Lightcap, and ethics head Chloé Bakalar, have also stepped down one after another. Some employees view the frequent personnel shifts as a sign of management pressure during the company’s push to go public. Separately, OpenAI recently disbanded its Preparedness Team, which was previously tasked with evaluating major security risks from AI models and developing response measures. Those responsibilities have been split across other teams. OpenAI said the company is growing at an extremely rapid pace, and organizational changes are designed to boost efficiency, focus on its ChatGPT business, and compete with Anthropic in the enterprise market. OpenAI is currently gearing up for a possible IPO, with market expectations valuing the firm at up to $1 trillion. However, rival Anthropic has posted strong growth this year, with revenue surging significantly, creating pressure on OpenAI. Data shows OpenAI’s annualized revenue has risen from roughly $24 billion at the end of last year to around $40 billion now, though Anthropic’s revenue has grown faster over the same period. Additionally, OpenAI recently completed an approximately $7 billion employee stock repurchase, with some employees cashing out by selling their shares. Investors have raised concerns about OpenAI’s management stability and organizational efficiency, but some investors argue that optimizing the management structure ahead of an IPO is a normal adjustment that helps clarify the future core team.