Sam Altman pledges about 169 YC startups $2 million OpenAI tokens
Business
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman just announced that each of the about 169 new Y Combinator startups will get $2 million worth of OpenAI tokens.
The deal uses an uncapped SAFE agreement, meaning the tokens will turn into equity during the startup's first big funding round.
The main goal: Help these young companies cover expensive AI infrastructure and build products faster.
Startups weigh equity, OpenAI dependency fears
While this sounds like a huge boost, there's a catch: startups have to give up more equity for these tokens, on top of the 7% Y Combinator already takes.
Some founders and critics worry about becoming too dependent on OpenAI or having their ideas copied down the line.
So, teams now have to decide if immediate help is worth handing over more control in the future.