• OpenAI says it has struggled to raise funds due to its nonprofit structure.
• The company just revealed its fundraising challenges in a letter to California's attorney general.
• OpenAI plans to restructure as a Public Benefit Corporation to attract investors.

OpenAI is one of the most well-funded startups in history, raising a massive $40 billion round led by SoftBank earlier this year.

But many investors have passed on the startup because it's controlled by a nonprofit and is unable to offer "easy-to-understand" equity, the AI giant revealed in a recent letter to California's attorney general.

"Many potential investors in OpenAI's recent funding rounds declined to invest," the May 15 letter reads.

"OpenAI's recent attempts at securing funding have demonstrated the challenges posed by the organization's existing structure," it adds.

OpenAI didn't respond to a request for comment. The letter was first reported on by the AI publication Obsolete. OpenAI submitted the May 15 letter in response to an April 9 petition from a coalition of nonprofits and other organizations that urged the California attorney general to block OpenAI's for-profit conversion plans. Business Insider obtained the letter from LatinoProsperity, one of the nonprofits leading the coalition.

Startups are typically highly reluctant to acknowledge fundraising challenges, so it's an unusual disclosure.

But OpenAI, which was last valued at $300 billion, isn't a typical startup: it was founded as a nonprofit and remains controlled by its board, creating a big fundraising hurdle.

In the letter, OpenAI says it was only "able to secure" investments by promising to change its structure. Indeed, a big chunk of its massive SoftBank round was conditioned on just that.

OpenAI is now trying to restructure its for-profit arm as a Public Benefit Corporation, similar to competitors like Anthropic. It has given up on plans to free itself from its nonprofit's control.

The May 15 letter also shows that OpenAI is worried about competitors who are "far better funded, conventional for-profit businesses."

Google, Meta, and other tech giants have pledged capital expenditures of over $300 billion in AI investments in 2025 alone. OpenAI mentioned such investments as "threats" to its mission, which risks that artificial general intelligence, or AGI, will be consolidated in the hands of a few powerful entities.

If OpenAI can't raise more money to compete with them, then its ability to ensure safe AGI will be "compromised," the letter states.

Orson Aguilar, the founding president of LatinoProsperity, remains skeptical of OpenAI's plans.

"OpenAI's response comes only after they reversed course on their for-profit plans, but they haven't offered anything new," he told Business Insider.

"The core questions remain: What is the true value of their charitable assets? Who are they accountable to? And how can a nonprofit claim independence when it's clearly entangled with corporate interests?"

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has yet to sign with a team in free agency, but one NFL insider believes he's destined to sign with this team.

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Investors reacted swiftly Monday morning to the U.S. losing its last triple-A credit rating, briefing sending the yield on 30-year Treasuries above 5%.

Why it matters: Credit rating downgrades — like Moody's decision Friday to slash the U.S. government to Aa1 — mean the borrower is now viewed as a riskier bet.

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• U.S. Treasuries are still widely regarded as a dependable place to park cash, but long-term bond yields Monday nonetheless touched their highest level since November 2023, and last seen before that in 2007.

Zoom out: U.S. debt is now deemed by Moody's to be a risker proposition for investors than debt issued by a dozen countries.

• Those better bets are Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland.

What they're saying: "Globally, the downgrade may dent confidence in U.S. Treasuries, traditionally perceived as a safe-haven asset due to the U.S. dollar's status as the global reserve currency," Wells Fargo Investment Institute analysts wrote today in a special report.

• "While demand for Treasuries is likely to remain strong, in our view, reduced foreign appetite — already evident following President Donald Trump's tariff announcements — could exacerbate fiscal pressures," they wrote.

Yes, but: Most buyers of Treasury bonds aren't doing so based on credit rating firms' assessment, however, Axios' Neil Irwin notes.

Reality check: The U.S. had already lost its perfect rating from S&P in 2011 and from Fitch in 2023.

• Some, like Morningstar chief U.S. market strategist Dave Sekera, characterized Friday's Moody's downgrade as largely symbolic, with the issues that led to the downgrade "long in coming, well known, and priced into" the U.S. Treasury market.

The impact: The morning's bond selloff tapered off by the afternoon, with yields on 30-year Treasures settling at 4.91%.

• Stocks finished the day largely in the green, with the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow Jones indexes all closing Monday with small gains.

The big picture: For investors today the downgrade "reinforces that [U.S.] fiscal strain is no longer a distant concern," writes Tom Kozlik, head of public policy and municipal strategy at Hilltop Securities.

• "It is unfolding in real time, with significant implications for investor sentiment and policy discussions."

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• If you're entertaining this Memorial Day weekend, set-it-and-forget-it dishes can be a lifesaver.
• From ribs to pulled pork, these slow-cooker recipes are perfect for summer gatherings.
• You can also make sides like potato salad and dips in a slow cooker.

Sizzling burgers, blistered corn on the cob, and sweat dripping from your brow as you man the grill — this is how many mark the start of summer.

Fifty-eight percent of Americans plan to barbecue this Memorial Day weekend, according to a new WalletHub report, and the average cost of a cookout is expected to be about $31, a 4% increase from last year.

However, while grilling certainly captures the spirit of Memorial Day weekend, slow cookers can make preparing sides and meats much easier, with minimal cleanup and no need to bother with gas or charcoal.

Or at the very least, having a couple of set-it-and-forget-it dishes can help you focus on your grill.

From mouthwatering barbecue ribs to savory pulled-pork sandwiches, these slow-cooker recipes are perfect for any Memorial Day cookout.