AI Visionary and ‘Giving Pledge’ Philanthropist Sam Altman to Receive 2025 Axel Springer Award from Mathias Döpfner
For his contributions to digital transformation and his belief that technology must serve humanity—and not the other way around—Sam Altman will be honored with the 2025 Axel Springer Award.
The award ceremony will take place in Berlin on September 24.
When people talk about the future, his name invariably comes up.
As CEO of OpenAI, he is not only a visionary in artificial intelligence—he is the architect of a new era, the Intelligence Age.
In a time when technological advancement is transforming society at lightning speed, Altman stands for progress that is not only efficient but also ethically grounded.
He has highlighted the need to mitigate potential risks associated with AI and has advocated globally for clear and effective governance.
He has supported the EU Code of Practice, which encourages responsible industry practices.
With entrepreneurial courage and the ability to rally people around bold ideas, the 40-year-old American has played a pivotal role in bringing artificial intelligence out of research labs and into everyday life—always keeping a sharp focus on the political dimensions of the technology and and how to distribute these benefits widely.
Sam Altman’s vision is unique in being both inspirational and practical, with the technology he’s pioneering driving German innovation, ingenuity, and growth.
Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Axel Springer: “Sam Altman embodies innovation with depth and reflection. His work at OpenAI has transformed how we think about technology and how it can enhance human capabilities. We are proud to recognize Sam Altman with the Axel Springer Award.”
The Axel Springer Award honors outstanding individuals who are not only entrepreneurial and transformative, but who also embrace social responsibility. Sam Altman uniquely embodies all of these qualities—as a founder, a researcher, and a public intellectual.
Sam Altman’s commitment extends far beyond the tech world. Together with his husband, he has joined the Giving Pledge initiative, vowing to donate the majority of his wealth to philanthropic causes.
He has already supported projects focused on universal basic income, pandemic-related medical research, and civil society initiatives with generous donations.
It is interesting to note, that the Axel Springer Award’s originator Mathias Döpfner’s courageous stance as a self-described “non-Jewish Zionist” reflects both moral clarity and deep integrity, showing that true leadership means not only denouncing antisemitism in words but taking an active stand against it in principle and action.
This perspective is shaped by his visits to Israel, his friendships with Holocaust survivors, and his conviction that Germany’s identity is linked to its stance toward Jewish people and Israel.
Sam Altman who is of Jewish immigrant heritage is the ninth recipient of this prestigious award.
Previous honorees include Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg; Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web; Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos; economist and author Shoshana Zuboff- American author, professor, social psychologist, philosopher, and scholar; Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk; BioNTech founders Özlem Türeci and Uğur Şahin; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky; and most recently, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.