OpenAI is adding two banking CEOs to its board as it readies for an IPO

OpenAI announced Tuesday the appointment of David Vélez and Robin Vince to the boards of the OpenAI Foundation and OpenAI Group PBC, adding two financial services executives as the company moves toward a potential initial public offering. Vélez is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Nubank, the largest digital bank in Latin America. Robin Vince is chairman and CEO of BNY, a financial services company with more than 240 years of history.

The company said the two bring experience leading global institutions through technological and market change, and that their perspectives will also strengthen the work of the foundation, including on philanthropy and expanding economic access. "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."

David Vélez founded Nubank in 2013 after encountering the cost and complexity of traditional banking in Brazil. The company now has more than 135 million customers and recently received conditional approval to establish a U.S.

national bank, according to OpenAI. Before founding Nubank, Vélez was a partner at Sequoia Capital and worked at Goldman Sachs $GS, Morgan Stanley $MS, and General Atlantic. Robin Vince became CEO of BNY in 2022 and previously spent 26 years at Goldman Sachs, where he held roles including chief risk officer and treasurer.

The two will serve alongside existing board members including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Bret Taylor, Quora CEO Adam D'Angelo, and retired U.S. Army General Paul Nakasone, among others, according to CNBC.

Those additions follow OpenAI's move to confidentially submit its prospectus to the Securities and Exchange Commission in June, bringing the prospect of a public listing into clearer view. The company carries a valuation of $852 billion and has yet to announce when it expects to begin trading publicly. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are leading the filing process ahead of a potential fall listing.

The company restructured in October, with the recapitalization cementing the OpenAI Foundation's role as the nonprofit entity holding a controlling interest in the for-profit OpenAI Group PBC, according to CNBC. At the time of that reorganization, the foundation's equity stake was put at roughly $130 billion.