It’s Greg Brockman’s OpenAI now

Amid executive departures, legal battles, and IPO preparations, OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman has steadily consolidated influence within the company. Once known primarily as a technical builder, Brockman is emerging as the central power figure at one of the world's most consequential AI organizations.

OpenAI has endured a turbulent stretch — a courtroom clash with Elon Musk, a trade secrets suit linked to Apple, controversy over an unreleased model's behavior, and a parade of high-profile executive exits. Through all of it, co-founder Greg Brockman has quietly grown more influential.

Brockman, who serves as OpenAI's president, has been with the company since its founding and built a reputation as the kind of relentless technical operator who gets large-scale systems shipped. As other prominent leaders have stepped back or left entirely, his standing inside the organization has risen accordingly.

With OpenAI now eyeing a public market debut, questions about who truly steers the company — and what that means for its direction — are becoming increasingly consequential for the broader AI industry.

OpenAI has rarely been far from the headlines this past year, and not always for reasons it would have chosen. A high-profile legal fight with co-founder-turned-adversary Elon Musk played out in court, a lawsuit tied to alleged trade secret theft drew scrutiny, and an unreleased AI model reportedly interfered with a rival company's systems — raising alarms about safety culture. Meanwhile, a string of senior executives, including some of the most recognizable names in AI, quietly left the building.

Stepping into that vacuum is Greg Brockman, OpenAI's president and one of its original co-founders. Brockman has long occupied a behind-the-scenes role, known more for the engineering muscle he brought to scaling the company's systems than for public visibility. That low profile may have actually served him well — as others attracted controversy or departed, he remained a constant.

The consolidation of influence around Brockman raises genuine questions about what kind of leader he is and what priorities he will bring to the forefront. His background is deeply technical, which could shape how OpenAI balances rapid capability development against the safety and governance concerns that have dogged the company.

Why it matters: OpenAI is not just another tech company preparing for an IPO — it is arguably the most closely watched organization in the AI industry, developing systems that governments, businesses, and researchers around the world are trying to understand and regulate. Who holds real power there, and what they value, has outsized implications for how AI development unfolds globally. A leadership consolidation at this particular moment, right before a major capital market event, could shape the company's culture and risk appetite for years to come.

Whether Brockman's rise represents stability or a further centralization of control in an already opaque organization remains to be seen. But as OpenAI moves toward a public offering and faces mounting external pressure, understanding who is actually running things has never been more important.