OpenAI appoints two new members to board of directors

OpenAI said it appointed longtime financial executives David Vélez and Robin Vince to its nonprofit and for-profit boards of directors, as the company marches closer to a prospective IPO.

Vélez is the CEO of Nubank, the largest digital bank in Latin America, and Vince is the CEO of the financial services company BNY. OpenAI said in a statement on Tuesday that the pair will provide the company with "complementary perspectives on how technology can reshape industries and drive economic growth."

The appointments come as OpenAI, which is valued at more than $850 billion, gears up for a potentially massive initial public offering. The company confidentially filed its prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission in June, though it hasn't disclosed an official timeline for when it plans to debut.

OpenAI carried out a recapitalization in October that solidified its structure as a nonprofit, called the OpenAI Foundation, with a controlling stake in its for-profit business, the OpenAI Group PBC. The company said in a release at the time that the nonprofit's equity was valued at around $130 billion, and it has since touted the organization as one of the most well-resourced nonprofits in the world.

"David and Robin are exceptional leaders who have used technology to reshape financial services and expand opportunity at global scale," Bret Taylor, chair of the OpenAI Foundation and OpenAI Group PBC Boards, said in a statement. "Their experience will be invaluable as OpenAI serves more businesses and people around the world, working to ensure AI benefits everyone."

Vélez and Vince will serve alongside OpenAI's existing board members, including Taylor, the former co-CEO of Salesforce, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Quora CEO Adam D'Angelo, longtime healthcare executive Dr. Sue Desmond-Hellmann, Carnegie Mellon University professor Zico Kolter, retired U.S. Army General Paul Nakasone, Adebayo Ogunlesi, the co-founder of Global Infrastructure Partners, and former Sony executive Nicole Seligman are also board members.

Kolter is the only one who doesn't serve on the board of the for profit. OpenAI said in October that within a year of the recapitalization, a second foundation director would transition to "serving exclusively on the Foundation Board and as a non-voting observer to the Group board."

Altman was briefly ousted from his position as CEO in 2023, when the previous board members determined he was "not consistently candid in his communications." Altman rejoined the company after a dramatic few days of negotiations, and he was reinstated on the board in March of 2024.

WATCH: Watch CNBC’s full interview with OpenAI chairman and Sierra co-founder Bret Taylor