• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Bars, bowling alleys and movie theaters cost too much to run and visit. Americans have run out of places to hang out and we're paying with our health

2

The labor market could become so backward that the economy will have to shed jobs to keep unemployment steady

3

Jensen Huang says ‘a lot’ of six-figure jobs in plumbing and construction will soon be unlocked because someone needs to build new AI centers

1

Bars, bowling alleys and movie theaters cost too much to run and visit. Americans have run out of places to hang out and we're paying with our health

2

The labor market could become so backward that the economy will have to shed jobs to keep unemployment steady

3

Jensen Huang says ‘a lot’ of six-figure jobs in plumbing and construction will soon be unlocked because someone needs to build new AI centers
AIOpenAI

OpenAI vs. Apple? Sam Altman is setting his sights on winning what could be an even higher-stakes AI battle

Alyson Shontell
By
Alyson Shontell
Alyson Shontell
Editor-in-Chief and Chief Content Officer
Down Arrow Button Icon
Alyson Shontell
By
Alyson Shontell
Alyson Shontell
Editor-in-Chief and Chief Content Officer
Down Arrow Button Icon
December 20, 2025, 1:25 PM ET
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, during a media tour of the Stargate AI data center in Abilene, Texas, on Sept. 23, 2025.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, during a media tour of the Stargate AI data center in Abilene, Texas, on Sept. 23, 2025. Kyle Grillot—Bloomberg via Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

All eyes are on the Big Tech LLM race and, at least in the eyes of investors, it seems like Google (owned by Alphabet, No. 7) could run away with the win.

Recommended Video

Google’s Gemini has been steadily stealing buzz and AI traffic share over the last few months from OpenAI. And if there was any moat to be had in LLMs, it would seem like it would belong to the company with the biggest treasure chest of personal data on users. That almost indisputably would be Google, thanks to Android, YouTube, Search history, Maps, and Gmail. On top of that, the company has one of the top AI minds, Demis Hassabis, and Google cofounder Sergey Brin leading its troops toward dominance.

Perhaps that’s why Sam Altman is setting his sights on winning what could be an even higher-stakes AI battle: creating the future mass AI consumer device. Altman feels that in the long term, his greatest foe will be Apple (No. 4), not Google, Meta (No. 22), or Amazon (No. 2). He recruited iPhone designer Jony Ive to OpenAI this May, and Ive has said the company’s secret device could be ready in the next two years.

What will that device be like? If you ask Altman, he describes limitations with the mobile phone. First of all, it can be turned off. It also can’t scan the room around you and give you real-time context and know exactly when to deliver relevant information to you. He sounds more bullish about audio than visual as the primary means of communication. And he sees no reason why a device and an operating system should be sold separately, like Google and Android—a future device should come with the trademark LLM baked in, like iOS in an iPhone.

Thanks largely to that iPhone, Apple is generating tens of billions of dollars a year in cash flow that it can plow into new devices and armies of engineers to design them—two areas where OpenAI lags far behind. Then again, Apple seems ripe to be disrupted: As Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg said on Joe Rogan’s podcast earlier this year, “They haven’t invented anything great in a while. It’s like Steve Jobs invented the iPhone, and now they’re just kind of sitting on it 20 years later.”

But for now, OpenAI and its team are all about perfecting ChatGPT. For more on how Altman is planning to position OpenAI as a long-term hardware play, and how he’s combating fast-rising competition like Anthropic and Google in the short term, check out Fortune’s reporting on what’s happening inside OpenAI as it battles its way through an eight-week code red.

Also, we’re taking a break for the holidays, so Fortune 500 Digest will be back in inboxes Jan. 10. In the meantime, you can read the latest online.

This essay appeared in the Dec. 20, 2025 edition of the Fortune 500 Digest newsletter, which rounds up the headlines driving the week’s most important business news and coverage of Fortune 500 companies. Subscribe to receive it in your inbox every Saturday morning.

About the Author
Alyson Shontell
By Alyson ShontellEditor-in-Chief and Chief Content Officer
Instagram iconLinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Alyson Shontell is the editor-in-chief and chief content officer at Fortune.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in AI

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

Latest in AI

cs
AIEducation
The computer science major is dying so that the AI literacy minor can be born: ‘we have to democratize it’
By Heather Hollingsworth and The Associated PressAugust 3, 2026
2 hours ago
Business colleagues sitting at conference table seen through glass wall. They are planning strategy.
C-SuiteCFO Daily
Aon’s CFO on the No. 1 risk keeping CEOs and finance chiefs up at night
By Sheryl EstradaAugust 3, 2026
2 hours ago
Sam Altman says a ‘cool use case’ for ChatGPT is a daily AI podcast about your kids. The replies were brutal
AISam Altman
Sam Altman says a ‘cool use case’ for ChatGPT is a daily AI podcast about your kids. The replies were brutal
By Holly Van Leuven and Morning BrewAugust 3, 2026
2 hours ago
AI is creating a two-speed jobs market in the UK, Indeed says
AIthe future of work
AI is creating a two-speed jobs market in the UK, Indeed says
By Irina Anghel and BloombergAugust 2, 2026
17 hours ago
lp
SuccessEntrepreneurship
‘It’s really not for the faint of heart’: This 29-year-old CEO became a business owner, doubled revenue in 3 years, and learned what car not to drive
By Nick LichtenbergAugust 2, 2026
1 day ago
SpaceAI could be Southeast Asia’s edge against El Niño—if governments actually use it
AsiaSatellites
SpaceAI could be Southeast Asia’s edge against El Niño—if governments actually use it
By Karryl Kim Sagun Trajano and Iuna TsyrulnevaAugust 2, 2026
1 day ago

Most Popular

Bars, bowling alleys and movie theaters cost too much to run and visit. Americans have run out of places to hang out and we're paying with our health
North America
Bars, bowling alleys and movie theaters cost too much to run and visit. Americans have run out of places to hang out and we're paying with our health
By Catherina GioinoAugust 2, 2026
1 day ago
The labor market could become so backward that the economy will have to shed jobs to keep unemployment steady
Economy
The labor market could become so backward that the economy will have to shed jobs to keep unemployment steady
By Jason MaAugust 1, 2026
2 days ago
Jensen Huang says ‘a lot’ of six-figure jobs in plumbing and construction will soon be unlocked because someone needs to build new AI centers
Success
Jensen Huang says ‘a lot’ of six-figure jobs in plumbing and construction will soon be unlocked because someone needs to build new AI centers
By Preston ForeAugust 1, 2026
2 days ago
Trump just invoked a 1930 tariff law no president has ever used — against Canada
Commentary
Trump just invoked a 1930 tariff law no president has ever used — against Canada
By Caleb PetittAugust 2, 2026
1 day ago
As Trump balks again at escalating war, Iran smells 'blood in the water' and looks to exploit its newfound strategic advantage, experts say
Middle East
As Trump balks again at escalating war, Iran smells 'blood in the water' and looks to exploit its newfound strategic advantage, experts say
By Jason MaAugust 2, 2026
20 hours ago
The average worker would need to save for 52 years to claw their way out of the middle class and be classified as wealthy, research reveals
Success
The average worker would need to save for 52 years to claw their way out of the middle class and be classified as wealthy, research reveals
By Orianna Rosa RoyleAugust 2, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.