Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Spring 2025
Abstract
Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) startups have taken center stage, rapidly disrupting conventional industries at an unprecedented pace with their groundbreaking innovations. Hailed by many as the most significant technological advancement of our era, AI’s profound societal impact has garnered heightened public and governmental scrutiny. The spotlight has recently fallen on OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, which weathered a tumultuous period marked by the ouster and subsequent rehiring of CEO Sam Altman, a board reconfiguration, and Altman’s later return to the board. Concerns over AI safety were offered as the rationale for the tandem corporate governance structure of nonprofit and for-profit at OpenAI which led to board friction, a management coup, and superalignment defection. Similarly, concerns over AI safety also underscore the creation of the corporate structures at Anthropic and xAI.
This Article explores the innovative corporate governance models that have emerged from leading AI startups like OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI, assessing their long-term viability as these companies race against one another in building AI foundation models. Ultimately, it proposes a path forward for improved governance in AI startups by advocating for an amendment to corporate law requiring a board-level AI Safety Committee at AI startups.
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2025-24
Repository Citation
Fan, Jennifer S. and Nguyen, Xuan-Thao, "Novel Corporate Governance Structures" (2025). Law Faculty Research and Publications. 1.
https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/law_faculty_pub/1
