Skip to content
OpenAI Foundation fka OpenAI Inc at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

OpenAI Foundation fka OpenAI Inc

OpenAIs mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.

$7.6M
Granted FY2024still arriving
22
Grants FY2024still arriving
12
States reached
$1.0M
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2024.

Science & Tech$15MEducation$3.5MPublic Safety & Disaster$1.0MCommunity Improvement$750kCivil Rights$118kHealth$110kSocial Science$106kPublic Benefit$104kOther$0
02FY2024 · 22 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $50k–250k12 grants · $1.7M
  • $250k+10 grants · $5.9M
$230,000
Median grant
12
States reached
$15M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Meridian Prime Inc$1,000,000
Carnegie Mellon University$950,000
UC Berkeley$950,000
Stanford University$524,000
Harvard University$518,000
Individual grant recipient$500,000
Operation Hope Inc$500,000
Princeton University$420,000
Center for AI Safety Inc$333,333
EleutherAI$250,000
Toyota Technological Inst$230,000
University of Virginia$200,000
University of Texas at Austin$180,000
University of Michigan$170,000
University of Pennsylvania$150,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY19–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 36% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%Harvard University: $518k → 8%Carnegie Mellon University: $950k → 11%Benefits Data Trust: $100k → 22%Stanford University: $524k → 7%Khan Academy Inc: $100k → 8%UBI Charitable: $10.0M → 10%NYX Arts LLC: $30k → 10%Operation Hope Inc: $500k → 14%Cornell University: $150k → 16%NAACP Legal Defense & Edu: $37k → 17%Meridian Prime Inc: $1.0M → 20%University of Texas at Austin: $180k → 10%Thurgood Marshall College Fun: $16k → 14%University of Michigan: $170k → 14%Equal Justice Inititive: $20k → 18%Washington Univ St Louis: $133k → 11%Duke University: $333k → 11%Operation Hope Inc: $250k → 13%Turnio PBC: $500k → 12%University of Washington: $108k → 9%Toyota Technological Inst: $230k → 14%University of Illinois Fdn: $110k → 19%Princeton University: $420k → 11%Inst for Meaning Alignment: $104k → 8%University of Pennsylvania: $150k → 22%Stanford University: $150k → 8%Open Research Lab: $75k → 10%Tides Foundation: $38k → 10%New York University: $395k → 17%EleutherAI: $250k → 14%University of Michigan: $110k → 14%Southern Poverty Law Center: $12k → 18%Duke University: $333k → 11%Energize AI Inc: $106k → 8%Recidiviz Inc: $50k → 10%Tides Foundation: $8k → 10%Campaign Zero: $27k → 17%University of Michigan: $102k → 14%UC Berkeley: $950k → 10%AI to Benefit People: $100k → 10%ACLU Foundation: $43k → 17%Digital Green Foundation: $100k → 10%Center for AI Safety Inc: $333k → 10%Center for AI Safety Inc: $333k → 10%Black Girls Code: $50k → 10%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

WA
IL
MI
NY
MA
PA
NJ
CA
CO
MO
VA
NC
DC
AL
GA
TX
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

66%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$13M · 6 repeat orgs$6.4M to everyone else

6 repeat relationships: 4 still active in FY2024, 2 since wound down; 14 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

6
15

Total granted

$13M
$1.2M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

-15%
+10%

Still filing today

83%
80%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 19% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $5.2M went to new ones.

50%100%’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’20’21’22’23’24
EducationCivil RightsScience & TechCrime & LegalPhilanthropyOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • UC
    UBI Charitable Inc
    2× · 2020–2021 · $10M · revenue -94% · 38% of their budget
  • OH
    OPERATION HOPE INC
    2× · 2023–2024 · $750k · revenue -15%
  • CF
    Center for AI Safety Inc
    2× · 2023–2024 · $667k · revenue -36%

Funded once

  • NY
    New York University
    one grant, 2023 · $395k · revenue +11%
  • University of Illinois Foundationgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $110k · revenue +37%
  • UO
    UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2023 · $108k · revenue +10%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The mission of mit is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

Education
2
Boston Architectural College

The bac is committed to provide excellence in design education grounded in practice and accessible to diverse communities.

—
3
Furman University

The primary mission of furman as a liberal arts institution is to provide a distinctive education in fine arts, humanities, social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, as well as selected professional disciplines.

Education
4
Lehigh University

The university's goal in the coming decade is to advance learning through the integration of teaching, research and service to others. the core of this goal is to prepare graduates to engage with the world and lead lives of meaning. to do…

Education
5
The George Washington University

The mission of the george washington university (gw) is to educate individuals in liberal arts, languages, sciences, learned professions, and other courses and subjects of study, and to conduct scholarly research and publish the findings…

Education
6
University of New Haven

The University of New Haven is a student-centered comprehensive university with an emphasis on excellence in liberal arts and professional education. Our mission is to prepare our students to lead purposeful and fulfilling lives in a…

Education
7
Trustees of Boston University

Organization's mission: boston university is an international, comprehensive, private research university, committed to educating students to be reflective, resourceful individuals ready to live, adapt, and lead in an interconnected world.…

—
8
Trustees of Tufts College

Education and Research

Education
9
Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Wpi transforms lives, turns knowledge into action to confront global challenges, and revolutionizes stem through distinctive and inclusive education, projects and research. (http://www.wpi.edu/about/mission.html)

—
10
United States Naval Institute

Provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.

—
11
Manhattanville University

To educate students to be ethical and socially responsible leaders in a global community.

Education
12
Vanderbilt University

See Disclosure Above.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is The Trustees of Princeton University; the most unlike its peers is New York University. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

31 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 31 of the 39 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
0
Early backer (in before they grew)
31/31
Grantees still filing
16/31
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

UBI Charitable Inc: $10,075,000 · PhilanthropyUBI Charitable Inc+1 more: $45,556 · PhilanthropyMERIDIAN PRIME INC: $1,000,000 · OtherMERIDIAN PRIME INCREGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEY: $950,000 · OtherREGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF…Carnegie Mellon University: $950,000 · OtherCarnegie Mellon UniversityOPERATION HOPE INC: $750,000 · OtherOPERATION HOPE INCIndividual grant recipient: $500,000 · OtherIndividual grant recipientREGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: $382,000 · OtherREGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF…RECTOR & VISITORS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: $200,000 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF TEXAS: $180,000 · Other+4 more: $282,945 · Other+4 moreTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $674,000 · EducationTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES …DUKE UNIVERSITY: $666,666 · EducationDUKE UNIVERSITYPresident and Fellows of Harvard College: $628,000 · EducationPresident and Fellows …The Trustees of Princeton University: $420,000 · EducationThe Trustees of Prince…New York University: $395,000 · EducationNew York UniversityToyota Technological Institute at Chicago: $230,000 · EducationToyota Technological I…KHAN ACADEMY INC: $200,000 · EducationTRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $150,000 · EducationCornell University: $150,000 · Education+8 more: $666,477 · Education+8 moreCenter for AI Safety Inc: $666,666 · Science & TechTHE ELEUTHERAI INSTITUTE: $250,000 · Science & TechPARTNERSHIP ON AI TO BENEFIT PEOPLE AND SOCIETY: $100,000 · Science & TechNAACP LEGAL DEFENSE & EDUC FUND INC: $36,777 · Civil RightsWE THE PROTESTERS INC: $26,708 · Civil RightsEQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $19,698 · Civil RightsRECIDIVIZ INC: $50,000 · Crime & LegalSOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC: $11,715 · Crime & Legal
Philanthropy$10,120,556Other$5,194,945Education$4,180,143Science & Tech$1,016,666Civil Rights$83,183Crime & Legal$61,715

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetUBI Charitable Inc: $10,075,000 over 2y, 38% of budgetMERIDIAN PRIME INC: $1,000,000 over 1y, 7.6% of budgetCarnegie Mellon University: $950,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetOPERATION HOPE INC: $750,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetTHE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY: $674,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCenter for AI Safety Inc: $666,666 over 2y, 3.3% of budgetDUKE UNIVERSITY: $666,666 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetPresident and Fellows of Harvard College: $628,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Trustees of Princeton University: $420,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNew York University: $395,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ELEUTHERAI INSTITUTE: $250,000 over 1y, 8.9% of budgetToyota Technological Institute at Chicago: $230,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetKHAN ACADEMY INC: $200,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetTRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $150,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCornell University: $150,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: $133,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Illinois Foundation: $110,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION: $108,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBENEFITS DATA TRUST: $100,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetDIGITAL GREEN FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetPARTNERSHIP ON AI TO BENEFIT PEOPLE AND SOCIETY: $100,000 over 1y, 1.6% of budgetRECIDIVIZ INC: $50,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetCREATIVE COMMONS CORPORATION: $50,000 over 1y, 1.0% of budgetBLACK GIRLS CODE INC: $49,766 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetTIDES FOUNDATION: $45,556 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION INC: $42,945 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNAACP LEGAL DEFENSE & EDUC FUND INC: $36,777 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetWE THE PROTESTERS INC: $26,708 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetEQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE: $19,698 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetThurgood Marshall College Fund: $15,711 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER INC: $11,715 over 1y, 0.0% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Silicon Valley Commun…The Patrick J McGover…Gates FoundationNational Philanthropi…American Online Givin…Fidelity Investments …Donor Advised Charita…Amazonsmile Foundation
Silicon Valley Community FoundationCA16.5× affinity7 shared granteesties to 7 of 7Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Silicon Valley Community Foundation · The Patrick J McGovern Foundation Inc · Gates Foundation · National Philanthropic Trust · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Amazonsmile Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization OpenAI Foundation fka OpenAI Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from OpenAI Foundation fka OpenAI Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 11%
  • The Trustees of Princeton University: 11% of income from government
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College: 7% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 39 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on OpenAI Foundation fka OpenAI’s filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home