The OpenAI Foundation is on track to become one of the wealthiest non-profits. It holds a 26% stake in OpenAI, now seeking a $1.4 trillion valuation. The foundation was created in October 2025 after a governance shake-up. It has committed at least $25 billion to grants. This month it began issuing funds under a $125 million health and life-sciences program. Grants include $40 million for a cancer vaccine project at UNC Chapel Hill. It also funded a pilot to repurpose data from bankrupt biotech firms. Another $15 million goes to drug membrane research. A prior $100 million tranche targeted Alzheimer’s disease. Jacob Trefethen now leads its life-sciences efforts. The foundation focuses on AI for Alzheimer’s, public health data and high-burden diseases. It aims to support scientific infrastructure for all researchers. The figures come from a Nature interview.
What it unlocks
Funding for freely available health and life-sciences research data.
- $25 billion committed to grants
- $125 million for health and life-sciences data
- $40 million for cancer vaccine project
- $15 million for drug membrane research
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