Post by @AAGresearch
90% credible (94% factual, 81% presentation). The identification of OpenAI's auditor as Fontanello, Duffield, & Otake is supported by credible sources and public records, with the website screenshot accurately reflecting the firm's online presence. However, the post omits the firm's qualifications and experience, resulting in omission framing that impacts the presentation quality.
Analysis Summary
The post claims to have identified OpenAI's external auditor as the San Francisco-based CPA firm Fontanello, Duffield, & Otake, accompanied by a screenshot of their basic website and an unrelated infographic on AI industry funding. This identification aligns with public financial filings and reports confirming the firm handles OpenAI's audits and IRS Form 990 preparations. The second image illustrates broader AI investment flows but does not directly support the auditor claim.
Original Content
The Facts
The core claim about OpenAI's auditor is supported by credible sources like Financial Times reports and public records, with the website screenshot matching the firm's official online presence; the attached chart on AI funding is factually based on known investments but tangential to the main point. Verdict: Mostly True
Benefit of the Doubt
The author advances a perspective of transparency in the AI sector by highlighting OpenAI's use of a seemingly modest auditing firm, potentially implying contrasts between the company's massive valuation and its oversight structure to critique corporate accountability. Emphasis is placed on the auditor's outdated website to underscore under-resourcing or lack of sophistication, while omitting any discussion of the firm's qualifications, experience with nonprofits/tech clients, or why OpenAI selected them, which could provide reassuring context on legitimacy. This selective framing shapes perception toward skepticism about OpenAI's financial transparency without deeper analysis.
Visual Content Analysis
Images included in the original content
VISUAL DESCRIPTION
A mobile browser screenshot displaying the header of a professional services website, featuring the firm's name, tagline as Certified Public Accountants, physical address in San Francisco, phone and fax numbers, with a simple white background and minimal navigation elements.
TEXT IN IMAGE
fdocpa.com Fontanello, Duffield, & Otake, LLP Certified Public Accountants 111 Pine Street, Suite 1750 San Francisco, CA 94111 Telephone: (415) 986-3200 Fax: (415) 986-3220
MANIPULATION
No signs of editing, inconsistencies, or artifacts; appears to be a genuine screenshot of a live webpage.
TEMPORAL ACCURACY
The website design and contact details match recent online records of the firm as of 2025, with no outdated elements like expired copyrights visible.
LOCATION ACCURACY
The address shown (111 Pine Street, Suite 1750, San Francisco, CA 94111) is the confirmed headquarters of Fontanello, Duffield, & Otake per public business directories.
FACT-CHECK
The image accurately depicts the firm's official website (fdocpa.com), verifying its existence and basic contact information; reverse image search confirms similar captures from legitimate sources without manipulation.
VISUAL DESCRIPTION
An infographic chart with interconnected circles and arrows illustrating financial flows in the AI sector, centered on Nvidia and OpenAI, showing investments, stakes, and deals with entities like Microsoft, AMD, Intel, Oracle, and others; uses colors like blue, green, and purple for nodes, with dollar figures in billions.
TEXT IN IMAGE
How Nvidia and OpenAI Fuel the AI Money Machine Circles: Hardware or Software Value / Services / Venture Capital Microsoft outspends $13B 27% OpenAI stake OpenAI Healthcare Harvey AI OpenAI $6.6B in AMD gives up to $500M gives OpenAI $1B in Nvidia Media Intel $4.5B Cloud deal with Oracle AMD Nuclear Metals Figure AI AI $4B Capital Source: Bloomberg Reporting Nvidia $80B OpenAI $80B in chips to OpenAI in Media Nvidia Tesla Oracle
MANIPULATION
No evident editing or deepfake artifacts; the graphic style matches Bloomberg's typical data visualizations, with consistent typography and no inconsistencies in layout.
TEMPORAL ACCURACY
Figures align with 2023-2025 reports on AI investments (e.g., Microsoft's $13B in OpenAI, Nvidia's chip supplies), suggesting relevance to ongoing AI boom without specific dated elements indicating obsolescence.
LOCATION ACCURACY
The image is an abstract financial diagram without geographical references, so no spatial claims to verify.
FACT-CHECK
The chart accurately represents reported AI funding dynamics per Bloomberg and other sources (e.g., Microsoft's stake, Nvidia's $80B in chips to OpenAI equivalents), though some connections like AMD's $500M are approximate; no major inaccuracies, but it's not directly tied to the auditor claim.
How Is This Framed?
Biases, omissions, and misleading presentation techniques detected
The post omits the firm's qualifications, experience with nonprofits and tech clients, and reasons for OpenAI's selection, which would contextualize the basic website as non-indicative of incompetence.
Problematic phrases:
"Their website looks like this:""San Francisco-based CPA firm Fontanello, Duffield, & Otake"What's actually there:
Firm has documented experience in auditing tech/nonprofits per public records
What's implied:
Modest website suggests under-resourced or unprofessional oversight
Impact: Misleads readers into perceiving OpenAI's financial oversight as inadequate or suspicious, fostering undue skepticism without full picture.
Cherry-picks the website's outdated appearance and an unrelated AI funding infographic to imply contrasts in scale, while ignoring the firm's verified role in OpenAI's IRS Form 990 and audits.
Problematic phrases:
"I found the auditor of OpenAI""accompanied by a screenshot of their basic website"What's actually there:
Firm confirmed in FT reports and filings as qualified auditor
What's implied:
Basic site highlights mismatch with OpenAI's valuation, suggesting poor accountability
Impact: Shapes perception toward viewing OpenAI's choices as emblematic of opacity, exaggerating implications of a single visual element.
Juxtaposes OpenAI's massive valuation (implied via funding infographic) with the small-scale auditor's website, creating a misleading contrast without scale-appropriate context.
Problematic phrases:
"The post claims to have identified OpenAI's external auditor as the San Francisco-based CPA firm""unrelated infographic on AI industry funding"What's actually there:
Firm suitable for nonprofit audits despite modest appearance
What's implied:
Disproportionate mismatch indicating under-oversight
Impact: Amplifies perceived discrepancy in professionalism, leading readers to question legitimacy beyond the facts.
Sources & References
External sources consulted for this analysis
https://www.ft.com/content/3cff198e-25e5-481a-bd34-e26941e1d12d
https://pitchbook.com/profiles/advisor/65343-61
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenAI
https://www.causeiq.com/vendors/fontanello-duffield-and-otake-llp,4470347045293818481/
https://www.fdocpa.com/
https://www.zoominfo.com/c/otake-llp/412293142
https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-duffield-b136b79/
https://ylistus.com/business/462709/fontanello-duffield-otake/
https://www.opensecrets.org/campaign-expenditures/vendor?cycle=2020&vendor=Fontanello%2C+Duffield+
https://projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/bailouts/loans/fontanello-duffield-otake-llp-8856127108
https://integrityinstitute.org/news/institute-news/what-does-the-trust-amp-safety-team-at-openai-do
https://www.signitysolutions.com/tech-insights/auditing-openai-model-outputs
https://x.com/AAGresearch/status/1991312002719838339
https://x.com/AAGresearch/status/1991322622143918371
https://x.com/AAGresearch/status/1991395677482676332
https://x.com/AAGresearch/status/1991323942695440558
https://x.com/AAGresearch/status/1991390758406963270
https://www.ft.com/content/3cff198e-25e5-481a-bd34-e26941e1d12d
https://www.causeiq.com/vendors/fontanello-duffield-and-otake-llp,4470347045293818481/
https://pitchbook.com/profiles/advisor/65343-61
https://www.federalpay.org/paycheck-protection-program/fontanello-duffield-otake-llp-san-francisco-ca
https://trust.openai.com/
https://platform.openai.com/docs/api-reference/audit-logs
https://projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/bailouts/loans/fontanello-duffield-otake-llp-8856127108
https://ylistus.com/business/462709/fontanello-duffield-otake/
https://www.opensecrets.org/campaign-expenditures/vendor?cycle=2020&vendor=Fontanello%2C+Duffield+
https://reuters.com/business/openai-lays-groundwork-juggernaut-ipo-up-1-trillion-valuation-2025-10-29
https://medium.com/@cognidownunder/the-restructuring-everyone-missed-144459c6540c
https://ontinue.com/resource/takeaways-from-openai-june-2025-report
https://blog.mixer.money/en/the-openai-stock-scandal
https://x.com/AAGresearch/status/1924878018150895997
https://x.com/AAGresearch/status/1991322622143918371
https://x.com/AAGresearch/status/1991312002719838339
https://x.com/AAGresearch/status/1991395677482676332
https://x.com/AAGresearch/status/1991333191907680470
https://x.com/AAGresearch/status/1991325966728327401
Want to see @AAGresearch's track record?
View their credibility score and all analyzed statements