OpenAI appoints two new members to board of directors
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- OpenAI appointed David Vélez, CEO of Latin America's largest digital bank Nubank, and Robin Vince, CEO of financial services firm BNY, to both its nonprofit and for-profit boards of directors.
- The moves come as OpenAI, now valued at more than $850 billion, prepares for a potential IPO after confidentially filing its prospectus with the SEC in June.
- OpenAI's October recapitalization created the OpenAI Foundation as the controlling shareholder of the for-profit OpenAI Group PBC, with the nonprofit's equity valued at around $130 billion.
- Board chair Bret Taylor called Vélez and Vince "exceptional leaders" who will provide "complementary perspectives on how technology can reshape industries and drive economic growth."
- The new directors join existing members including CEO Sam Altman, Quora's Adam D'Angelo, retired Army General Paul Nakasone, and Nicole Seligman — with Carnegie Mellon's Zico Kolter the only one who doesn't sit on the for-profit board.
Why it matters: OpenAI recruited two CEOs from opposite ends of finance — a Latin American neobank and a Wall Street incumbent — signaling it wants both disruption credibility and institutional legitimacy as it courts public investors. With a $850 billion private valuation already baked in, every board pick now doubles as a signal to the IPO market.
