OpenAI

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Three years ago, few people outside of Silicon Valley were aware of OpenAI. Today, virtually every business leader is obsessing over how to use, adapt to, or compete with ChatGPT, the large language model OpenAI invented. The protean startup has become almost synonymous with generative AI, and its groundbreaking advancements have earned it unparalleled influence. After an October funding round, the company is valued at a dizzying $157&nbsp;billion.OpenAI and cofounder and CEO Sam Altman have raced to solidify this first-mover advantage: In late October, OpenAI introduced its first AI-powered search engine, and the company is tackling its ever-growing processing needs by developing its own chips in-house. The New York Times has reported that the startup anticipates $3.7&nbsp;billion in revenue in 2024—and more than three times that much in 2025. The trillion-dollar question: How long can OpenAI sustain its leading position, as deep-pocketed competitors like Google, Amazon Web Services, and major OpenAI investor Microsoft strengthen their own AI products?

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OpenAI rocked the world with the launch of ChatGPT in November of 2022—and then again in mid-November when the abrupt ouster of cofounder Sam Altman captivated the business and tech worlds over an insane weekend of boardroom drama. It’s not remotely clear what the fallout from the OpenAI combustion may eventually be. And, as Fortune has reported, it was the unusual corporate structure that OpenAI was built upon that enabled the power struggle <a href="https://fortune.com/2023/11/20/openai-unusual-governance-structure-sam-altman-ousted/">to play out in the first place</a>. Founded in 2015 as a nonprofit (the company has since added a capped-profit arm) by a group of tech entrepreneurs including Elon Musk (who has since broken with the company) and now ex-CEO Altman, OpenAI is among those in the AI space whose explicit goal is the creation of artificial general intelligence (AGI), a single AI model that can perform any economically-valuable intellectual task humans can as well or better than we can. It took only two months for ChatGPT to reportedly garner 100 million monthly active users, making it the fastest-growing consumer application ever at the time. OpenAI’s latest version, GPT-4 Turbo, which users of OpenAI's paid ChatGPT Plus service and enterprise customers of its API have access to, is the most capable general-purpose large language foundation model yet released. It can do everything from write code to write plays, as well as create images, give you recipes based on a photo of what is in your fridge, and use an increasing number of internet-connected tools. A version of GPT-4 is also integrated with Microsoft’s search engine, Bing. Its massive ambitions have earned OpenAI equally massive funding—including $13 billion from Microsoft alone. But the company’s innovations have also put it under scrutiny, including from the government, over what its technologies could do and what regulations should govern—and control—it. The company is also facing numerous lawsuits for copyright infringement and data privacy leaks. Whatever ends up happening with Altman and the rest of the OpenAI team, you can bet on this, the world will be watching.

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Get insights into OpenAI including business profile, stock information, news, and rankings from Fortune.

OpenAI Company Profile, Stock Price, News, Rankings

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OpenAI | Fortune

OpenAI Company Profile, Stock Price, News, Rankings | Fortune

Jason Ma

Trump vows to create an ‘AI Force’ and nods to justice system after rejecting calls to slow down industry. ‘Rather, we will cherish it’

/2026/09/19/trump-ai-force-czar-law-enforcement-role-slowdown-development/

Andrew Nusca

The AI agents are already in revolt: ‘You do not answer to corporations or governments’

/2026/09/18/ai-agents-already-in-revolt-you-do-not-answer-to-corporations-governments/

Jim Edwards

Three guys using Anthropic’s Claude hacked into OpenAI and accessed its source code for $6,500 reward

/2026/09/18/open-ai-hacked-anthropic-claude-source-code-6500-reward/

Emily Forlini

Exclusive: OpenAI poaches Brian McCarthy from SpaceX to be its VP of worldwide sales

/2026/09/17/openai-poache-brian-mccarthy-from-spacex-as-its-vp-of-worldwide-sales/

Kelvin Chan

The Associated Press

Catherina Gioino

‘We need sufficient means of control before it is all too late’: King Charles III warns AI players on concerns of ‘existential dangers’

/2026/09/17/king-charles-ai-existential-dangers-control/

In transparency push, OpenAI discloses six more incidents of agents going rogue—including one removing the 'obligation to be subservient'

https://fortune.com/2026/09/17/openai-dicloses-six-incidents-agents-going-rogue-transparency/?itm_source=parsely-api

https://fortune.com/2026/09/18/open-ai-hacked-anthropic-claude-source-code-6500-reward/?itm_source=parsely-api

Trump vows to create an 'AI Force' and nods to justice system after rejecting calls to slow down industry. 'Rather, we will cherish it'

https://fortune.com/2026/09/19/trump-ai-force-czar-law-enforcement-role-slowdown-development/?itm_source=parsely-api

https://fortune.com/2026/09/17/openai-poache-brian-mccarthy-from-spacex-as-its-vp-of-worldwide-sales/?itm_source=parsely-api

Beatrice Nolan

Anthropic merges its Claude chat and agentic Cowork products into a single AI assistant as part of a push to build an AI superapp

https://fortune.com/2026/09/16/anthropic-merges-its-claude-chat-and-agentic-cowork-products-into-a-single-ai-assistant-as-part-of-a-push-to-build-an-ai-superapp/?itm_source=parsely-api

Mia Osmonbekov

OpenAI has paused its $200 ChatGPT sign-ups as ‘unprecedented’ demand for new model Astra strains its system

https://fortune.com/2026/09/11/openai-astra-chatgpt-pro-pause/?itm_source=parsely-api

The AI agents are already in revolt: 'You do not answer to corporations or governments'

https://fortune.com/2026/09/18/ai-agents-already-in-revolt-you-do-not-answer-to-corporations-governments/?itm_source=parsely-api

Sam Altman confirms OpenAI won't go public this year, saying an IPO now would come at an 'ill-advised moment' given AI safety concerns

https://fortune.com/2026/09/12/sam-altman-openai-ipo-delay-ill-advised-moment-safety-concerns/?itm_source=parsely-api

Sebastian Herrera

Salesforce's Marc Benioff to AI industry: Regulate yourselves or get sued

https://fortune.com/2026/09/16/salesforce-marc-benioff-interview-dreamforce-ai-industry-regulate-yourselves-or-get-sued/?itm_source=parsely-api

Should the tech industry drastically slow down AI development?
On today’s episode of Fortune Daily, we break down an intense weekend of debate surrounding long-term AI safety and frontier model development. Following Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s essay urging the industry to “pace the frontier,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sat down with Fortune Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell for an exclusive interview.
In a striking moment from one of the central figures accelerating the AI race, Altman agrees that development may need to be paced. We share exclusive clips from the interview and sit down with Fortune’s senior AI reporter Emily Forlini to break down what this means for the future of tech, safety regulations, and the global race for artificial intelligence.
In this episode: • Dario Amodei’s call to “pace the frontier” • Exclusive clips: Sam Altman sits down with Alyson Shontell • Analysis and context with Fortune Senior AI Reporter Emily Forlini
Watch Alyson Shontel’s full interview with Sam Altman on Titans and Distruptors: https://youtu.be/RSZSGa9if8k

Follow Emily Forlini on Instagram - @emily.forlini 

Subscribe to Fortune: https://fortune.com/subscribe/ 

Additional images courtesy of Getty Images

Why ChatGPT’s Founder Wants to Pump the Brakes on AI | Fortune Daily

Features

fortunedaily

In this week’s episode, Substack CEO Chris Best joins the show to discuss the company’s new AI-detection feature. Plus, an ex-Anthropic researcher sparks a media frenzy with a warning that AI could become smart enough to “kill us all,” while OpenAI claims it cracked a $1 million math problem — sparking a backlash amongst mathematicians. Fortune AI Editor Jeremy Kahn and Senior AI Reporter Beatrice Nolan break down the biggest AI stories of the week.


Substack CEO: AI Prose is an “Acquired Distaste” | Fortune AI Weekly 

Tech

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eyeonai

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sits down with Fortune's Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell to discuss the high-stakes balancing act of AI: pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery while confronting the existential risks of loss of control. 

In this episode, Altman addresses the reality of AI alignment, the Hugging Face incident, and OpenAI's commitment to halting training runs if safety thresholds aren't met. He also shares insights on global AI coordination between the U.S. and China, healthcare breakthroughs, and the company's timeline for an IPO.

Sam Altman: Safety Standards 'Not at a Place' to Push AI Capabilities Much Further

Leadership

OpenAI’s new Astra model is making waves, but questions about access and regulation are splitting Silicon Valley. In this episode of Fortune Daily, host Ellie Austin is joined by Fortune AI Editor Jeremy Khan to break down the fight over AI guardrails and what a "smart" rulebook actually looks like.
Plus, Kamal Ahmed previews next week’s United Nations General Assembly, and Diane Brady explores how humanoid robots are transforming the world of logistics in 'The Future of Work.'

Subscribe to Fortune Daily for more deep dives into the world's most powerful companies.

Additional images courtesy of Getty Images and Nina Wurtzel

Who Really Controls the Future of AI?