DeepMind founded as an independent startup to “solve intelligence and use it to solve everything else.”
Acquired by Google; sale conditioned on an ethics board to preserve the mission. Public assurances surface against military applications
Google dissolves the ethics board after a single meeting
Alphabet at the apex of the conglomerate; DeepMind operates as Google subset
Project Maven backlash: after staff protest, Google publishes AI Principles pledging no weapons, overall harm and limiting surveillance
Government / defense contracts continue under the AI Principles guardrails
Urges less restrictive rules in the EU AIA, frames general-purpose regulation as a bad example, opposes external evaluations of high-risk systems
Alphabet merges Google Brain and DeepMind into a single division: Google DeepMind
In California, criticizes SB-1047 for pre-training obligations
Gemini teams moved under the single Google DeepMind umbrella; a new ethics council is established, staffed exclusively by Google
Lifts the ban on weapons and surveillance applications; drops the reference to “harmful applications.”
Supports the federal ban on state AI laws via its trade group; its global policy president criticizes uneven state-by-state protections
Incorporated as OpenAI, Inc., a non-profit counterweight to profit-driven labs. Early stance broadly disfavors military applications
Non-binding Charter commits to a “fiduciary duty to humanity.”
Pivot to a “capped-profit” structure to raise capital; Microsoft partnership begins
Prohibits military and warfare applications and weapons development
Microsoft invests $10B+ for 49% of profits; non-profit keeps formal control. Board fires Altman, then reinstates him within days
Grows increasingly critical of the EU AIA; threatens to withdraw ChatGPT from EU
Drops the blanket “military” ban, pursues defense contracts
Opposes SB-1047 and state regulation
Tender offer at a $157B valuation lets employees sell profit-participation units
Pushes for federal preemption; and advocates for a non-binding federal framework
Preparedness framework commits to pre-deployment safeguards
Restructured as a Delaware PBC; non-profit retains control and owns 26% of stock; valuation ~$300B
Offers product to Pentagon for all lawful uses hours after Anthropic’s refusal
Founded by former OpenAI staff (incl. Dario Amodei) over safety concerns; incorporated as a Delaware public benefit corporation from the outset
Public commentary supportive of risk-based regulation; engages the EU on high-level safety goals
Disinterested trustees take a long view on safety, but profit-driven shareholders retain the ability to roll back the trust
First archived Acceptable Use Policy bans weapons development and “battlefield management applications”, but never military use as such
Files a “support-if-amended” letter on SB-1047: opposes prescriptive pre-harm mandates, proposes outcome-based deterrence
Usage Policy adds protection of military bases; exceptions allow carve-outs for government customers
Cautious support SB-1047 after amendments, as benefits likely outweigh its costs
Partners with Palantir and AWS to bring Claude to US intelligence and defense agencies in classified environments
Responsible Scaling Policy v2.2 adopts precautionary approach; a high-water mark for voluntary safety measures
Opposes the proposed 10-year federal moratorium on state AI regulation as “too blunt an instrument”, proposing a federal transparency standard instead
Walks back safety commitments, citing competitive pressure
Conflict with Pentagon over autonomous weapons and mass surveillance
Made with the assistance of Claude Opus 4.8. Last updated July 21, 2026