Greg Brockman

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Greg Brockman
Born29 11, 1987
BirthplaceThompson, North Dakota, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationTechnology executive, software engineer, entrepreneur
Known forCo-founder and president of OpenAI, former CTO of Stripe
EducationHarvard University (transferred out)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (dropped out)
Spouse(s)Anna Brockman
AwardsIntel Science Talent Search finalist, International Chemistry Olympiad silver medalist

Gregory Brockman (born November 29, 1987) is an American technology executive, software engineer, and entrepreneur who co-founded OpenAI, the artificial intelligence research organization responsible for ChatGPT and the GPT-4 family of large language models. Born in the small town of Thompson, North Dakota, Brockman demonstrated exceptional aptitude in mathematics and science from a young age, earning recognition as a finalist in the Intel Science Talent Search and a silver medalist at the International Chemistry Olympiad before attending Harvard University and later MIT. He left MIT without completing a degree to join the payments startup Stripe in 2010, rising to the role of chief technology officer by 2013.[1] In 2015, Brockman departed Stripe to co-found OpenAI alongside Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and others, serving initially as the organization's chief technology officer and later as president.[2] Brockman's career has spanned pivotal moments in the development of modern AI systems, and his leadership roles have placed him at the center of debates over the responsible development and deployment of artificial intelligence. In 2025, his multimillion-dollar political donations to a super PAC supporting President Donald Trump drew public scrutiny and internal controversy at OpenAI.[3]

Early Life

Greg Brockman was born on November 29, 1987, in Thompson, North Dakota, a small community in Grand Forks County.[4] He was raised in the Grand Forks area by his parents, Ron Brockman and Ellen Feldman. Growing up in rural North Dakota, Brockman displayed an early interest in mathematics, science, and computing.

As a high school student, Brockman achieved distinction in competitive science and mathematics at the national and international levels. He was named a semifinalist and later a finalist in the Intel Science Talent Search, one of the most prestigious science competitions for high school students in the United States.[5][6] He also competed in the International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) in 2006, representing the United States and earning a silver medal at the 38th IChO held in South Korea.[7] Additionally, Brockman performed at a high level in the American Mathematics Competitions, as documented in published competition summaries.[8]

These accomplishments in Thompson and Grand Forks, North Dakota — a region not typically associated with Silicon Valley technology culture — have been noted by media profiles as an unconventional origin story for a major technology executive.[4] Brockman's rural upbringing and early academic achievements have been cited as formative in shaping his approach to problem-solving and technology development.

Education

After graduating from high school, Brockman enrolled at Harvard University. He subsequently transferred to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he studied computer science. However, Brockman did not complete a degree at either institution, ultimately dropping out of MIT to pursue a career in the technology industry.[9]

Brockman's decision to leave MIT before completing his studies placed him in a lineage of prominent technology entrepreneurs — including Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Stripe co-founder Patrick Collison — who departed elite universities to pursue startup ventures. In Brockman's case, the opportunity that drew him away was an early-stage role at Stripe, the online payments company, which he joined in 2010.[1]

Career

Stripe (2010–2015)

Brockman joined Stripe, the online payments processing company founded by brothers Patrick Collison and John Collison, shortly after leaving MIT in 2010. At the time, Stripe was a small startup seeking to simplify online payments for developers and businesses. Brockman became one of the company's earliest employees and played a central role in building its technical infrastructure.[1]

By 2013, Brockman had been promoted to chief technology officer (CTO) of Stripe, overseeing the company's engineering organization as it scaled rapidly. Under his technical leadership, Stripe grew into one of the most prominent financial technology companies in Silicon Valley, processing payments for a wide range of internet businesses.[1]

In May 2015, Brockman announced his departure from Stripe. At the time, his exit was reported as a significant loss for the company, given his role in shaping its technical direction from its earliest days.[1] Brockman did not immediately announce his next venture, but within months he would emerge as a central figure in the founding of OpenAI.

His tenure at Stripe was notable for establishing Brockman's reputation as a skilled engineering leader capable of scaling complex technical systems. In 2017, Forbes included him in its "30 Under 30" list in the enterprise technology category, citing his work in both the payments industry and artificial intelligence.[10]

Founding of OpenAI (2015)

In December 2015, Brockman co-founded OpenAI, a new artificial intelligence research organization, alongside Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Ilya Sutskever, and several other prominent figures in the technology and AI research communities. The organization was established as a non-profit with the stated goal of ensuring that artificial general intelligence (AGI) would benefit humanity broadly, rather than being concentrated in the hands of a few corporations or governments.[11]

At its founding, OpenAI announced pledges of over $1 billion from its backers, though the actual disbursement of those funds would occur over time. The organization positioned itself as a counterweight to the growing concentration of AI research talent and resources at large technology companies such as Google, Facebook, and others.[11]

Brockman assumed the role of chief technology officer at OpenAI, taking a hands-on role in the organization's research direction and technical infrastructure. A 2020 investigation by MIT Technology Review described the internal dynamics of OpenAI's founding period, noting the challenges of balancing a non-profit mission with the immense computational and financial resources required for cutting-edge AI research.[2]

OpenAI: Research and Technical Leadership

As CTO and later president of OpenAI, Brockman oversaw or was closely involved in several of the organization's most prominent research projects and product launches.

OpenAI Five and Reinforcement Learning

One of OpenAI's early high-profile projects was OpenAI Five, a system of five neural networks trained to play the complex multiplayer video game Dota 2 at a professional level. In 2018, OpenAI demonstrated that its AI agents could defeat amateur human teams in the game, an achievement that drew significant attention for the application of reinforcement learning techniques at scale.[12] By April 2019, OpenAI Five had achieved a milestone by defeating OG, the reigning world champions of Dota 2, in a public exhibition match at an event in San Francisco.[13] The project served as a demonstration of the potential for large-scale reinforcement learning and was part of OpenAI's broader research agenda under Brockman's technical oversight.

GPT-2 and Language Models

In February 2019, OpenAI announced GPT-2, a large language model capable of generating coherent and sometimes remarkably fluent text. The organization made the unusual decision to withhold the full model from public release, citing concerns about potential misuse for generating disinformation or other harmful content. This decision sparked a broad debate within the AI research community and the media about the responsible disclosure of powerful AI systems.[14] The GPT-2 controversy established OpenAI as a central institution in the growing discourse around AI safety and the ethics of open publication in AI research.

Structural Changes and the Capped-Profit Model

In 2019, OpenAI underwent a significant structural transformation, creating a "capped-profit" subsidiary — OpenAI LP — to attract the capital needed to fund its increasingly expensive research. The original non-profit entity remained as the governing body overseeing the for-profit arm, but the new structure allowed OpenAI to raise outside investment, including a major partnership with Microsoft. The Wall Street Journal reported on the restructuring, noting that the shift was driven by the enormous computing costs required for state-of-the-art AI research.[15]

Brockman played a key role in navigating this transition. The 2020 MIT Technology Review investigation described the tensions within OpenAI during this period, as the organization sought to reconcile its founding non-profit mission with the commercial imperatives of scaling up AI research.[2]

GPT-4 and ChatGPT Era

OpenAI's release of ChatGPT in late 2022 and GPT-4 in March 2023 represented a watershed moment in the public perception and adoption of artificial intelligence. ChatGPT, built on the GPT-3.5 model, became the fastest-growing consumer application in history, attracting over 100 million users within months of its launch.[16]

In a March 2023 interview with TechCrunch following the release of GPT-4, Brockman discussed the model's capabilities and limitations. He acknowledged that GPT-4 was "not perfect" while arguing that the system represented a meaningful advance in AI reasoning and reliability.[17] The interview reflected Brockman's public-facing role as a communicator of OpenAI's technical progress and safety posture.

November 2023 Leadership Crisis

In November 2023, OpenAI experienced a highly publicized leadership crisis when the company's board of directors abruptly fired CEO Sam Altman. Brockman was removed from his position as chairman of the board in the same action. The events set off a period of intense turmoil within the organization, with a majority of OpenAI employees threatening to resign if Altman was not reinstated. Within days, Altman was restored as CEO and a new board of directors was constituted.[18] OpenAI subsequently published a statement on the reconstitution of its leadership team, confirming Brockman's return to the organization.[19]

The November 2023 crisis drew global attention to questions of AI governance, the structure of OpenAI's non-profit/for-profit hybrid model, and the concentration of power in the leadership of major AI organizations.

Extended Leave and Return

Following the November 2023 crisis, Brockman took an extended leave of absence from OpenAI. His sabbatical, initially announced as a temporary break, drew additional scrutiny as other senior figures — including co-founder John Schulman — departed the organization. Mashable reported in February 2026 on the broader pattern of co-founder departures and noted that Brockman's leave, while described as voluntary, occurred during a period of significant organizational change at OpenAI.[20]

As of February 2026, OpenAI's organizational chart listed CEO Sam Altman with 10 direct reports and CEO of applications Fidji Simo with 13 direct reports. Brockman retained his title as president of OpenAI.[21]

Personal Life

Greg Brockman is married to Anna Brockman. He was born and raised in Thompson, North Dakota, to parents Ron Brockman and Ellen Feldman. Despite his prominence in the Silicon Valley technology industry, Brockman has maintained a relatively low public profile regarding personal matters compared to some of his peers in the AI sector.

Political Donations

In 2025, Brockman's political activity drew significant public attention when he made a $25 million donation to MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting President Donald Trump. The donation made Brockman one of the largest individual contributors to pro-Trump political efforts.[22]

In an interview with WIRED in early 2026, Brockman stated that his political donations were motivated by a desire to support policies that he believed aligned with OpenAI's mission, including favorable regulatory frameworks for artificial intelligence development. He acknowledged that some OpenAI employees disagreed with his political giving.[3] Gizmodo reported that Brockman declined to comment on the Trump administration's use of AI-adjacent technologies in immigration enforcement, including ICE operations.[23]

A New York Times investigation in February 2026 placed Brockman's donations within a broader trend of AI industry spending on federal elections, reporting that AI companies, allied groups, and executives spent at least $83 million on federal elections in the preceding year, with substantial additional amounts anticipated for the 2026 midterm elections.[24] The Brennan Center for Justice reported that MAGA Inc. raised a record-breaking $305 million, relying on multimillion-dollar donors including Brockman.[25]

Recognition

Brockman has received recognition for both his early academic achievements and his career in the technology industry. As a high school student, he was named a finalist in the Intel Science Talent Search, one of the oldest and most prestigious science competitions in the United States.[5] He also earned a silver medal at the 38th International Chemistry Olympiad in 2006.[7]

In 2017, Forbes named Brockman to its "30 Under 30" list in the enterprise technology category, recognizing his contributions at both Stripe and OpenAI.[10]

Brockman's public remarks and interviews at major technology conferences, including TechCrunch Disrupt, have positioned him as a prominent voice on topics including AI capabilities, safety, and the societal implications of large language models.[17] In February 2026, his comments on the concept of "taste" as a core skill in an AI-driven technology landscape attracted attention and online debate among technology industry figures.[26]

Legacy

Greg Brockman's career has tracked closely with two of the most consequential developments in the technology industry in the 2010s and 2020s: the rise of fintech through Stripe and the emergence of large-scale artificial intelligence through OpenAI. As an early employee and CTO of Stripe, he contributed to building the technical foundations of a company that transformed online payments. As a co-founder and president of OpenAI, he helped steer an organization that has been at the center of the global conversation about AI capabilities, safety, and governance.

The structural decisions made during Brockman's tenure at OpenAI — including the 2019 shift from a pure non-profit to a capped-profit model, the partnership with Microsoft, and the approach to staged release of AI models exemplified by GPT-2 — have had lasting effects on the AI industry's norms around safety, publication, and commercialization.[15][14] The November 2023 leadership crisis, in which Brockman was directly involved, further highlighted the governance challenges facing organizations developing powerful AI systems.

Brockman's 2025 political donations added a new dimension to his public profile, positioning him within a broader trend of AI industry executives engaging in political spending as governments worldwide began developing regulatory frameworks for artificial intelligence.[24] Whether these activities ultimately advance or complicate the stated mission of ensuring AI benefits humanity broadly remains a subject of ongoing public discussion.

His academic publications in the fields of computer science and AI research are indexed in the DBLP computer science bibliography.[27]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Stripe's CTO Greg Brockman is leaving the company".Business Insider.https://www.businessinsider.com/stripes-cto-greg-brockman-is-leaving-the-company-2015-5.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "The messy, secretive reality behind OpenAI's bid to save the world".MIT Technology Review.2020-02-17.https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/02/17/844721/ai-openai-moonshot-elon-musk-sam-altman-greg-brockman-messy-secretive-reality/.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "OpenAI's President Gave Millions to Trump. He Says It's for Humanity".WIRED.https://www.wired.com/story/openai-president-greg-brockman-political-donations-trump-humanity/.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Gregory Brockman".Creativity Found.https://www.creativity-found.org/gregory-brockman.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Greg Brockman Intel Science Talent Search Finalist".Grand Forks Herald.https://www.grandforksherald.com/newsmd/greg-brockman-intel-science-talent-search-finalist-grand-forks.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  6. ↑ "GF Student Named National Science Semifinalist".Grand Forks Herald.https://www.grandforksherald.com/newsmd/gf-student-named-national-science-semifinalist.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Results of the 38th International Chemistry Olympiad".International Chemistry Olympiad.https://web.archive.org/web/20221130163648/http://www.icho-official.org/results/results.php?id=38&year=2006.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  8. ↑ "2006–2007 AMC Publication Summary".Mathematical Association of America.https://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/pdf/AMC/d-publication/d1-pubarchive/2006-7pub/2007-1012Summary.pdf.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  9. ↑ "Ivy League Dropout Greg Brockman is Leading the AI Revolution".C-Suite Spotlight.2022-08-23.https://csuitespotlight.com/2022/08/23/ivy-league-dropout-greg-brockman-is-leading-the-ai-revolution/.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 PopkinHelenHelen"AI, Outsourcing, Self-Driving Cars And Serving The Weed Industry: 30 Under 30 In Enterprise Tech".Forbes.2017-11-14.https://www.forbes.com/sites/helenpopkin/2017/11/14/ai-outsourcing-self-driving-cars-and-serving-the-weed-industry-30-under-30-in-enterprise-tech/.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Group wants to make sure artificial intelligence is developed responsibly".The Washington Post.2015-12-14.https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/group-wants-to-make-sure-artificial-intelligence-is-developed-responsibly/2015/12/14/58a5ba46-a2ae-11e5-b53d-972e2751f433_story.html.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  12. ↑ "Elon Musk's OpenAI bot beat a human at video games last year. Now it will take on five at once.".The Washington Post.2018-06-28.https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/group-wants-to-make-sure-artificial-intelligence-is-developed-responsibly/2015/12/14/58a5ba46-a2ae-11e5-b53d-972e2751f433_story.html.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  13. ↑ "OpenAI Five finals: AI bot competition, OG, esports, The International champion".The Verge.2019-04-13.https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/13/18309459/openai-five-dota-2-finals-ai-bot-competition-og-e-sports-the-international-champion.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "AI machine learning language models read write: OpenAI GPT-2".The Verge.2019-02-14.https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/14/18224704/ai-machine-learning-language-models-read-write-openai-gpt2.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Nonprofit AI Lab Alters Structure to Build Massive Computing Power".The Wall Street Journal.2019-03-11.https://www.wsj.com/articles/nonprofit-ai-lab-alters-structure-to-build-massive-computing-power-11552352064.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  16. ↑ "ChatGPT, OpenAI, Google, Microsoft".The Independent.https://www.independent.co.uk/news/ap-chatgpt-openai-google-microsoft-b2301493.html.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Interview with OpenAI's Greg Brockman: GPT-4 isn't perfect, but neither are you".TechCrunch.2023-03-15.https://techcrunch.com/2023/03/15/interview-with-openais-greg-brockman-gpt-4-isnt-perfect-but-neither-are-you/.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  18. ↑ "OpenAI Announces Leadership Transition".OpenAI.https://openai.com/blog/openai-announces-leadership-transition.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  19. ↑ "Leadership Team Update".OpenAI.https://openai.com/blog/leadership-team-update.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  20. ↑ "OpenAI cofounder shakeup: John Schulman quits, Greg Brockman goes on leave".Mashable.https://mashable.com/article/openai-cofounder-shakeup-john-schulman-quits-greg-brockman-goes-on-leave.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  21. ↑ "Inside OpenAI's org chart: Here are the executives in charge at the ChatGPT creator".AOL.com.https://www.aol.com/articles/inside-openais-org-chart-executives-151941197.html.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  22. ↑ "OpenAI exec becomes top Trump donor with $25 million gift".Yahoo Finance.https://finance.yahoo.com/news/openai-exec-becomes-top-trump-230342268.html.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  23. ↑ "OpenAI President Defends Trump Donations, Refuses to Comment on ICE".Gizmodo.https://gizmodo.com/openai-president-defends-trump-donations-refuses-to-comment-on-ice-2000721451.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "How A.I. Money Is Flooding Into the Midterm Elections".The New York Times.2026-02-21.https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/21/us/politics/ai-money-midterms-openai-anthropic.html.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  25. ↑ "Pro-Trump Super PAC Raises Record-Breaking $305 Million".Brennan Center for Justice.https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/pro-trump-super-pac-raises-record-breaking-305-million.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  26. ↑ "Is taste a 'new core skill'? Techies debate — and quickly get memed".Business Insider.https://www.businessinsider.com/taste-new-core-skill-ai-debate-memes-2026-2.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
  27. ↑ "Greg Brockman – DBLP".DBLP.https://dblp.org/pid/74/10715.Retrieved 2026-02-24.

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