OpenAI, founded in 2015 to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) — AI systems with human-level intelligence — has transformed dramatically since launching ChatGPT, which was once considered to be “the fastest-growing consumer application in history.” Most cofounders have left either to create a competitor or work for one. The company has secured billions in funding and partnerships with Apple and Microsoft, even announcing a $500 billion datacenter project called Stargate. Meanwhile, it faces copyright lawsuits from authors and news organizations, legal action from cofounder Elon Musk over the company’s alleged departure from its original mission, and criticism for burning through cash despite projected billions in revenue. After Altman’s brief ouster, OpenAI is now expected to restructure from a nonprofit-led organization to a full for-profit company to stabilize operations and reassure investors.
As San Francisco’s hottest AI company continues to barrel towards ever growing valuations, its claims become more nebulous. Altman expects we may see “the first AI agents ‘join the workforce’ and materially change the output of companies” in 2025, and says his team is “now confident we know how to build AGI as we have traditionally understood it.” A decade since it was founded, OpenAI has become synonymous with the future of AI, with the tech industry and beyond closely monitoring its next moves.
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