OpenAI has publicly distanced itself from Robinhood's initiative to sell "OpenAI tokens" to European Union customers, clarifying that these tokens do not represent actual equity in OpenAI.…
OpenAI has publicly distanced itself from Robinhood's initiative to sell "OpenAI tokens" to European Union customers, clarifying that these tokens do not represent actual equity in OpenAI. The company stated that it did not partner with Robinhood, was not involved in the token sale, and does not endorse the practice.
OpenAI emphasized that any transfer of its equity requires its approval, which was not granted in this case. This announcement was made via OpenAI's official newsroom account on X, signaling the company's strong disapproval of Robinhood's actions. Robinhood's launch of these tokenized shares aims to provide retail investors with exposure to equity in private companies like OpenAI and SpaceX via blockchain.
The company claims these tokens offer indirect exposure through Robinhood's ownership stake in a special purpose vehicle (SPV) that holds OpenAI shares. However, OpenAI's response highlights that these tokens do not equate to direct ownership of OpenAI shares. The tokens are essentially contracts that track the price of the underlying assets, recorded on a blockchain.
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev has defended the initiative, stating that the tokens effectively provide retail investors with exposure to private assets and that the company is seeing interest from other private companies in tokenization. However, OpenAI's rejection underscores the complexities and potential pitfalls of tokenizing shares in private companies.
The company's stance is a strong indicator that they are not in favor of this tokenization effort. The situation mirrors instances where private companies have taken action to control how their equity is valued. The article also mentions that humanoid robotics startup Figure AI sent cease-and-desist letters to brokers running secondary markets for their stock.
These actions highlight the sensitivity surrounding the valuation and distribution of equity in private companies and their efforts to maintain control over these processes.