The 800-pound gorilla in AI: OpenAI's $20B cap table

OpenAI just filed for an IPO — and the numbers are staggering. It's raising $20 billion at a $150 billion valuation, making it one of the most valuable privately-held companies ever. The cap table reads like a tech who's who: Microsoft holds 49%, SoftBank 10%, and the founders collectively control about 10%.

That Microsoft stake is the real story. The cloud giant has poured billions into OpenAI's infrastructure and training runs, and now owns nearly half the company. It's the kind of vertical integration that could quietly lock in the AI race for years.

Why this matters for us: when one company controls both the model and the compute, the folks running the side hustle or the neighborhood shop get priced out of the tools they need to compete.