Turmoil at OpenAI: whats next for the creator of ChatGPT?
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The worlds hottest AI company went through three CEOs in under a week and ended up with the same one it had at the start so what happened, and whats next?On November 17th, 2023, OpenAIs nonprofit board abruptly announced that co-founder and CEO Sam Altman was out. The shake-up came just shy of one year after the launch of ChatGPT, which quickly became one of the fastest-growing apps in history and initiated an industry-wide race to build generative AI.Over a period of just a few days, the CEO job shuffled between CTO Mira Murati and former Twitch boss Emmett Shear. Meanwhile, hundreds of OpenAI employees said they would leave for jobs at Microsoft, OpenAIs lead investor, unless the board reinstated Altman. In the end, Altman returned, along with co-founder Greg Brockman and a revamped board of directors.On March 8th, after an independent investigation into his sudden firing, OpenAI reinstated Altman as a member of the board, along with three other additions.That same month, OpenAI co-founder Elon Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, claiming that the companys pursuit of profit has led it to abandon its founding nonprofit mission to develop artificial general intelligence technology (AGI) that will benefit humanity.All of the news and updates about OpenAI continue below.HighlightsJan 21Kylie RobisonMicrosoft is letting OpenAI get its own AI compute nowImage: Cath Virginia / The VergeMicrosoft and OpenAI announced Tuesday that they have adjusted their partnership so that OpenAI can access competitors compute.The new agreement includes changes to the exclusivity on new capacity, moving to a model where Microsoft has a right of first refusal (ROFR), Microsoft says. To further support OpenAI, Microsoft has approved OpenAIs ability to build additional capacity, primarily for research and training of models.Read Article >Jan 21Richard LawlerOpenAI and SoftBank are starting a $500 billion AI data center companyImage: The White House (YouTube)A plan to build a system of data centers for artificial intelligence has been revealed in a White House press conference, with Masayoshi Son, Sam Altman, and Larry Ellison joining Donald Trump to announce The Stargate Project. Their companies, SoftBank, OpenAI, and Oracle (respectively), along with MGX are listed as initial equity funders for $500 billion in investments over the next four years, building new AI infrastructure for OpenAI in the United States.According to a statement from OpenAI, Arm, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Oracle, and OpenAI are the initial tech partners, with a buildout currently underway starting in Texas as other sites across the country are evaluated. It also says that Oracle, NVIDIA, and OpenAI will closely collaborate to build and operate this computing system.Read Article >Dec 27, 2024Emma RothOpenAI announces plan to transform into a for-profit companyImage: The VergeOpenAI has laid out plans to become a for-profit company. In a blog post published on Friday, OpenAIs board said it will replace the companys existing structure with one that puts control into the hands of its for-profit arm.Going into 2025, OpenAI plans to become a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), which is a for-profit company meant to operate for the good of society. This division will run and control OpenAIs operations and business, while OpenAIs nonprofit will retain a stake in the business but lose its oversight role.Read Article >Dec 21, 2024Wes DavisSo far, the vibes are off.We reported in October that OpenAI could launch its GPT-4 successor, codenamed Orion, this month. Now, The Wall Street Journal reports the behind-schedule models training is a struggle thats racking up enormous costs.When it will be ready is apparently a feel thing. WSJ writes:Its up to company executives to decide whether the model is smart enough to be called GPT-5 based in large part on gut feelings or, as many technologists say, vibes.So far, the vibes are off. The Next Great Leap in AI Is Behind Schedule and Crazy Expensive[WSJ]Dec 14, 2024Alex HeathMeta asks the government to block OpenAIs switch to a for-profitMark Zuckerberg. Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty ImagesMeta is asking California Attorney General Rob Bonta to block OpenAIs planned transition from a non-profit to for-profit entity.In a letter sent to Bontas office this week, Meta says that OpenAI should not be allowed to flout the law by taking and reappropriating assets it built as a charity and using them for potentially enormous private gains.Read Article >Dec 12, 2024Kylie RobisonInside the launch and future of ChatGPTImage: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty ImagesAs winter descended on San Francisco in late 2022, OpenAI quietly pushed a new service dubbed ChatGPT live with a blog post and a single tweet from CEO Sam Altman. The team labeled it a low-key research preview they had good reason to set expectations low. It couldnt even do arithmetic, Liam Fedus, OpenAIs head of post-training says. It was also prone to hallucinating or making things up, adds Christina Kim, a researcher on the mid-training team.Read Article >Dec 4, 2024Alex HeathSam Altman lowers the bar for AGIImage: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty ImagesNearly two years ago, OpenAI said that artificial general intelligence, or AGI the thing the company was created to build could elevate humanity and give everyone incredible new capabilities.Now, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is trying to lower expectations.Read Article >Nov 18, 2024Kylie RobisonInside Elon Musks messy breakup with OpenAIImage: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty ImagesAs OpenAI was ironing out a new deal with Microsoft in 2016 one that would nab the young startup critical compute to build what would become ChatGPT Sam Altman needed the blessing of his biggest investor, Elon Musk.$60MM of compute for $10MM, and input from us on what they deploy in the cloud, Altman messaged Musk in September 2016, according to newly revealed emails. Microsoft wanted OpenAI to provide feedback on and promote (in tech circles, evangelize) Microsoft AI tools like Azure Batch. Musk hated the idea, saying it made him feel nauseous. Read Article >Oct 25, 2024Tom WarrenMicrosoftprepares for OpenAIs next model as their relationship strainsImage: MicrosoftMicrosoft is getting ready to host OpenAIs next model, just as reports emerge describing unprecedented tension in their complex relationship.We just exclusively revealed that Orion, OpenAIs next model, is set to be released by the end of the year. A source familiar with Microsofts AI plans tell me that engineers inside the company have been preparing to host OpenAIs Orion model in recent weeks.Read Article >Oct 25, 2024Kylie RobisonandTom WarrenOpenAI plans to release its next big AI model by DecemberImage: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty ImagesOpenAI plans to launch Orion, its next frontier model, by December, The Verge has learned.Unlike the release of OpenAIs last two models, GPT-4o and o1, Orion wont initially be released widely through ChatGPT. Instead, OpenAI is planning to grant access first to companies it works closely with in order for them to build their own products and features, according to a source familiar with the plan.Read Article >Oct 24, 2024Kylie RobisonDeparting OpenAI leader says no company is ready for AGIImage: The VergeMiles Brundage, OpenAIs senior adviser for the readiness of AGI (aka human-level artificial intelligence), delivered a stark warning as he announced his departure on Wednesday: no one is prepared for artificial general intelligence, including OpenAI itself.Neither OpenAI nor any other frontier lab is ready [for AGI], and the world is also not ready, wrote Brundage, who spent six years helping to shape the companys AI safety initiatives. To be clear, I dont think this is a controversial statement among OpenAIs leadership, and notably, thats a different question from whether the company and the world are on track to be ready at the relevant time.Read Article >Oct 20, 2024Wes DavisFormer OpenAI CTO Mira Muratis next move: another AI startup.Murati is seeking venture capital funds for a new AI startup with its own proprietary models, Reuters reported Friday.Barret Zoph, an OpenAI researcher who left the same day as Murati may join the venture, according to unnamed sources cited by the outlet.Former OpenAI technology chief Mira Murati to raise capital for new AI startup, sources say[Reuters]Sep 27, 2024Kylie RobisonOpenAI was a research lab now its just another tech companyPhoto by Jack Guez / AFP via Getty ImagesHeres the thing about asking investors for money: they want to see returns.OpenAI launched with a famously altruistic mission: to help humanity by developing artificial general intelligence. But along the way, it became one of the best-funded companies in Silicon Valley. Now, the tension between those two facts is coming to a head. Read Article >Sep 25, 2024Jay PetersandKylie RobisonOpenAI CTO Mira Murati is leavingScreenshot: YouTubeOpenAI CTO Mira Murati is leaving the company.Im stepping away because I want to create the time and space to do my own exploration, she wrote in a post on X. For now, my primary focus is doing everything in my power to ensure a smooth transition, maintaining the momentum weve built.Read Article >Sep 21, 2024Alex CranzJony Ive confirms hes working on a new device with OpenAIPhoto by Jerod Harris / Getty Images for Vox MediaJony Ive has confirmed that hes working with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on an AI hardware project. The confirmation came today as part of a profile of Ive in The New York Times, nearly a year after the possibility of a collaboration between Altman and the longtime Apple designer was first reported on.There arent a lot of details on the project. Ive reportedly met Altman through Brian Chesky, the CEO of Airbnb, and the venture is being funded by Ive and the Emerson Collective, Laurene Powell Jobs company. The Times reports it could raise $1 billion in funding by the end of the year but makes no mention of Masayoshi Son, the SoftBank CEO rumored last year to have invested $1 billion in the project.Read Article >Sep 14, 2024Wes DavisStep four: Profit.CEO Sam Altman told employees in a company-wide meeting that OpenAIs complicated corporate structure as a for-profit endeavor under the umbrella of a non-profit is set to change, likely sometime next year, reports Fortune.The reconfiguring, which has been rumored before, would reportedly shift the company away from being controlled by a non-profit. OpenAI told the outlet that the non-profit is core to our mission and will continue to exist.Sam Altman told OpenAI staff the companys non-profit corporate structure will change next year[Fortune]Aug 30, 2024Elizabeth LopattoOpenAI searches for an answer to its copyright problemsYou mean its all copyright? Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty ImagesThe huge leaps in OpenAIs GPT model probably came from sucking down the entire written web. That includes entire archives of major publishers such as Axel Springer, Cond Nast, and The Associated Press without their permission. But for some reason, OpenAI has announced deals with many of these conglomerates anyway.At first glance, this doesnt entirely make sense. Why would OpenAI pay for something it already had? And why would publishers, some of whom are lawsuit-style angry about their work being stolen, agree?Read Article >Aug 29, 2024Emma RothChatGPTs weekly users have doubled in less than a yearIllustration: The VergeOpenAI says that more than 200 million people use ChatGPT each week, as first reported by Axios. OpenAI spokesperson Taya Christianson confirmed the number to The Verge, which is now double the 100 million weekly active users OpenAI reported last November.Additionally, Christianson says that 92 percent of Fortune 500 companies are using OpenAIs products, while API usage has doubled following the release of the companys cheaper and smarter model GPT-4o Mini.Read Article >Aug 6, 2024Alex HeathAnother OpenAI co-founder departs.John Schulman is leaving to work on alignment at Anthropic, OpenAIs chief rival. In a reply post on X, CEO Sam Altman thanked Schulman and said he laid out a significant fraction of what became OpenAIs initial strategy.In his new job, Schulman will work closely with Jan Leike, another senior leader who recently left OpenAI for Anthropic due to concerns that safety had taken a backseat to business priorities.Aug 5, 2024Jess WeatherbedElon Musk is suing OpenAI and Sam Altman againImage: The VergeElon Musk has revived his complaint against OpenAI after dropping a previous lawsuit, again alleging that the ChatGPT maker and two of its founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman breached the companys founding mission to develop artificial intelligence technology to benefit humanity.The new lawsuit filed in federal court in Northern California on Monday says that Altman and Brockman assiduously manipulated Musk into co-founding their spurious non-profit venture by promising that OpenAI would be safer and more transparent than profit-driven alternatives. The suit claims that assurances about OpenAIs nonprofit structure were the hook for Altmans long con.Read Article >Aug 3, 2024Alex HeathMicrosoft now lists OpenAI as a competitor.CNBC spotted the update this week in Microsofts risk factors with the SEC. These are managed by lawyers to help shield companies from shareholders lawsuits and generally pretty conservative. Still, the change feels like a sign of how OpenAI and its largest investor are drifting apart.Relatedly, I couldnt help but notice the number of times Microsoft execs mentioned OpenAI during their earnings call this week: zero.Microsoft says OpenAI is now a competitor in AI and search[CNBC]Jul 10, 2024Tom WarrenMicrosoft and Apple ditch OpenAI board seats amid regulatory scrutinyImage: The VergeMicrosoft has dropped its seat as an observer on the board of OpenAI, less than eight months after securing the non-voting seat. Apple was reportedly planning to join OpenAIs nonprofit board, but now the Financial Times reports that Apple will no longer join the board.OpenAI confirmed that Microsoft has given up its seat in a statement to The Verge, following reports from Axios and the Financial Times that Microsofts deputy general counsel Keith Dolliver wrote a letter to OpenAI late on Tuesday.Read Article >Jul 2, 2024Emma RothApples Phil Schiller is reportedly joining OpenAIs boardIllustration by Kristen Radtke / The VergeApple has chosen App Store chief and former marketing head Phil Schiller to represent the company on OpenAIs nonprofit board, according to a report from Bloomberg. Schiller will reportedly get an observer role, meaning he can attend board meetings but cant vote or act as a director.Joining the board will allow Schiller to learn more about the inner workings of OpenAI as Apple works to build ChatGPT into iOS and macOS later this year. The integration will allow the AI-supercharged Siri to punt more advanced queries to ChatGPT if users grant permission. As previously reported by Bloomberg, no money is currently involved in the partnership, though Apple is expected to get a percentage of ChatGPT subscriptions made through its platforms down the road.Read Article >Jun 13, 2024Jay PetersFormer head of NSA joins OpenAI boardPhoto: NSAOpenAI has appointed Paul M. Nakasone, a retired general of the US Army and a former head of the National Security Agency (NSA), to its board of directors, the company announced on Thursday.Nakasone, who was nominated to lead the NSA by former President Donald Trump, directed the agency from 2018 until February of this year. Before Nakasone left the NSA, he wrote an op-ed supporting the renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the surveillance program that was ultimately reauthorized by Congress in April.Read Article >Jun 12, 2024Alex HeathOpenAIs business is booming.The company is on track to make about $3.4 billion in revenue this year, which is about double what it brought in last year, according to a new report by The Information.CEO Sam Altman reportedly told employees that $200 million of that revenue is the cut OpenAI gets from Microsoft selling its models through Azure. That means the vast majority of OpenAIs revenue is coming from ChatGPT subscriptions and its own developer platform.OpenAIs Annualized Revenue Doubles to $3.4 Billion Since Late 2023[The Information]More Stories
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