TNB Tech Minute: OpenAI Scraps For-Profit Plans
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Here's your TNB Tech Minute for Monday, May 5th. I'm Victoria Craig for The Wall Street Journal. A controversial plan to convert chat GPT maker OpenAI from a non-profit entity to a for-profit one has been called off. OpenAI has been working on a change to its business structure in the roughly year and a half since co-founder Sam Altman was briefly ousted by the board.

But after discussions with civic leaders and the attorneys general of California and Delaware, the company said it'll instead transform its for-profit subsidiary into a public benefit corporation that's controlled by the nonprofit parent. During a press conference today, Altman said the change will allow the company to have a, quote, more understandable structure. The move to a for-profit status was said to be a critical component of a $40 billion fundraising round for OpenAI.

Elsewhere, the European Union is looking to lure top scientists and AI researchers to its shores as President Trump moves to cut funding for federal research and U.S. universities. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a speech today she wants Europe to be a leader in, quote, "...priority technologies from AI to quantum, from space, semiconductors and microelectronics,"

to digital health, genomics, and biotechnology. The bloc plans to put a number of policies in place to encourage foreign scientists to relocate there.

And finally, there's a new CEO in the wings at Eutelsat, a European alternative to Elon Musk's satellite systems company Starlink, that we talked about last month on Tech News Briefing. Effective June 1, Jean-Francois Fallaché will join Eutelsat, which has said it's committed to boosting Europe's autonomy in satellite-based connectivity and to supplying internet access to Ukraine, whose front line Musk has said would collapse if he were to turn off Starlink access.

Fallaché comes to Eutelsat from French telecoms company Orange, where he led an expansion across Europe. For a deeper dive into what's happening in tech, check out Tuesday's Tech News Briefing podcast. Viking, committed to exploring the world in comfort. Journey through the heart of Europe on an elegant Viking longship with thoughtful service, cultural enrichment, and all-inclusive fares. Discover more at viking.com.