OpenAI had discussed spinning out robotics, hardware divisions, WSJ says

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has discussed spinning out the company’s robotics and consumer-hardware divisions late last year, with the intention of giving the company more room to grow without weighing on the core business, Berber Jin of The Wall Street Journal reports. The two companies would have been able to raise external funding and operate independently, but the plan was rejected, partly because OpenAI concluded both companies might have to remain consolidated on its balance sheet, people familiar with the plan told the Journal.