By Cade Metz and Mike Isaac

Reporting from San Francisco

Aug. 30, 2024

Amid a flurry of news around its funding plans, OpenAI has tapped the political veteran Chris Lehane as its vice president of global policy.

Mr. Lehane held a similar role at Airbnb and served in the Clinton White House as a lawyer and spokesman who specialized in opposition research. He earned a reputation as “the master of disaster” during his time working for President Bill Clinton.

As OpenAI has built increasingly powerful artificial intelligence technologies, it has warned of their potential danger, and it is under pressure from lawmakers, regulators and others across the globe to ensure that these technologies do not cause serious harm. Some researchers worry that the A.I. systems could be used to spread disinformation, fuel cyberattacks or even destroy humanity.

Mr. Lehane could help navigate an increasingly complex social and political landscape. Through a spokeswoman, he declined to comment.

A spokeswoman for OpenAI, Liz Bourgeois, said, “Just as the company is making changes in other areas of the business to scale the impact of various teams as we enter this next chapter, we recently made changes to our global affairs organization.”

OpenAI is negotiating a new funding deal that would value the company at more than $100 billion, three people familiar with discussions have said. The deal would be led by the investment firm Thrive Capital, which would invest more than $1 billion.

Disclosure:

The New York Times Company has sued OpenAI and Microsoft, claiming copyright infringement of content related to artificial intelligence systems. The companies have sought to dismiss some of the claims.

The deal could also include investments from Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia, whose specialized computer chips are important to the development of A.I.

As part of these negotiations, OpenAI is also considering changing its corporate structure so that it is more appealing to investors, according to three other people familiar with the discussions. OpenAI began in 2015 as a nonprofit. Right now, the board of this nonprofit retains control of the organization, with no official input from investors.

In November, the board ousted OpenAI’s chief executive, Sam Altman, and investors had no official way to pressure the company. Mr. Altman was reinstated five days later after Microsoft, one of OpenAI’s investors, offered to hire its entire staff. (The New York Times has sued OpenAI and Microsoft, claiming copyright infringement of content related to A.I. systems.)

In the nine months since, OpenAI has expanded its board and hired several veteran Silicon Valley executives. After stints at Airbnb and Haun Ventures, a venture capital firm, Mr. Lehane had been consulting with OpenAI since last year and supported Mr. Altman as the chief executive fought his way back into OpenAI in November. The company officially hired Mr. Lehane this year as its vice president of public works.

In that role, he worked alongside OpenAI’s vice president of global affairs, Anna Makanju, a three-year veteran of the company who helped organize a world tour for Mr. Altman last year in which he met with many heads of state. Ms. Makanju has moved to a new role as vice president of global impact, leading efforts to ensure that the company’s A.I. technologies are widely available to all kinds of people across the globe. She will continue to work with Mr. Lehane on policy and remain a key company liaison to government and partner organizations across the world.

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Cade Metz writes about artificial intelligence, driverless cars, robotics, virtual reality and other emerging areas of technology. More about Cade Metz

Mike Isaac is a technology correspondent for The Times based in San Francisco. He regularly covers Facebook and Silicon Valley. More about Mike Isaac