Rumor: OpenAI “Equity Structure Table” Shows Microsoft's “$13 Billion Investment” Has Increased to “$228.3 Billion”

A suspected leaked OpenAI cap table has, for the first time, brought the internal distribution of interests at this AI company into the public view.

Recently, a cap table allegedly from OpenAI has been widely circulated online. According to a Celebrity Net Worth report on April 3rd, the document surfaced almost simultaneously with news of OpenAI’s latest funding round—OpenAI had just completed a $122 billion raise, bringing its valuation to $852 billion. The report states that the document "appears to be authentic."

According to the document, the top five shareholders of OpenAI are: Microsoft (26.79%), OpenAI Foundation (25.8%), SoftBank (11.66%), Amazon (4.66%), and Nvidia (3.47%). Current and former employees together hold about 20%.

Microsoft’s "$13 billion investment" has grown to "$228.3 billion," and SoftBank’s $64 billion investment is currently valued at around $99.3 billion.

The most eye-catching detail: CEO Sam Altman still holds no equity on the cap table.

Microsoft’s Return Is the Most Impressive, SoftBank Follows, Nvidia Slightly in the Red

In terms of investment returns, Microsoft is the biggest winner on this cap table.

According to data cited by Wall St Engine on X—sourced from Forbes—Microsoft’s total investment is about $13 billion, and, based on the current $852 billion valuation, its equity is worth about $228.3 billion, a return exceeding 17x.

Microsoft is OpenAI’s largest single shareholder. CEO Satya Nadella’s overall pledged investment is about $13 billion, infused over multiple rounds. This includes $1 billion in 2019, $10 billion in January 2023 (already confirmed in Microsoft’s 10-Q report), and an additional $2 billion in 2024.

SoftBank Group, led by Masayoshi Son, holds 11.66% of OpenAI, valued at $99.3 billion. Its investment cost was $64.6 billion, making it the largest single investment amount outside of Microsoft. The rate of return is 1.5 times.

SoftBank’s position is more complex. About $0.5 billion came from the Series E funding round, $30 billion from a massive Series F, and approximately $34 billion from the Series G. Masayoshi Son has called OpenAI “the most important company on Earth.”

Nvidia’s investment return is described as "a slight loss." Nvidia holds 3.47% of OpenAI, worth $29.6 billion, while its cost was $30.1 billion.

The OpenAI Foundation holds 25.8%, valued at about $219.8 billion, with zero cost basis. Analysts say the foundation’s 25.80% is the largest floating asset on the cap table. It can neither be sold nor used as collateral for leveraged financing. In theory, its existence is to ensure Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) benefits all of humanity.

Sam Altman Still Owns No Equity—IPO May Be the Turning Point

Another widely discussed detail in the cap table: Sam Altman holds no OpenAI equity.

Celebrity Net Worth directly questioned: "Otherwise, what is he here for?" and pointed out that once OpenAI goes public, this is "almost certain to change."

Reportedly, OpenAI is currently planning to go public this year or early next year at a $1 trillion valuation.

Ashton Kutcher: $30 Million Becomes $1.3 Billion

Row 22 of the cap table reveals an especially interesting name: Sound Ventures.

This venture capital firm holds 0.15% of OpenAI, with an investment cost of about $30 million. At the current valuation, this equates to roughly $1.3 billion—a 43x return.

One of Sound Ventures' co-founders is Hollywood actor Ashton Kutcher.

It should be noted that the $1.3 billion is not all attributable to Kutcher personally. Sound Ventures is a fund, with profit allocation structures for external LPs (limited partners) and GPs (general partners).

According to Celebrity Net Worth estimates, Kutcher's personal exposure in this investment is conservatively around 30%, or about $400 million. Adding in his other assets, the media estimates Kutcher’s current net worth to be about $600 million. If OpenAI goes public at a $1 trillion valuation, the value of his holding would rise further to about $470 million.

Sound Ventures invested in OpenAI when its valuation was between $20-29 billion, which was at the start of the 2023 AI boom.

In May 2023, Sound Ventures announced it completed a $240 million AI-focused fund, which was oversubscribed.

Kutcher’s judgment at the time: "Artificial intelligence will be the most important technological revolution since the internet."

The fund later deployed capital to several AI infrastructure startups, including Anthropic, StabilityAI, and OpenAI.

Celebrity Net Worth noted that if Anthropic and other bets follow OpenAI's trajectory, Kutcher's gains from the fund "could easily increase by several hundred million dollars more."