Turmoil at OpenAI: what’s next for the creator of ChatGPT? – The Verge

I talked to Sam Altman about the GPT-5 launch fiasco

2025-08-15T18:32:37-04:00

On Thursday, I had dinner with Sam Altman, a few other OpenAI executives, and a small group of reporters in San Francisco. Altman answered our questions for hours. No topic was off limits, and everything, with the exception of what was said over dessert, was on the record.

It's uncommon to have such an extended, wide-ranging interview with a major tech CEO over a meal. But there's nothing common about the situation Altman finds himself in. ChatGPT has quickly become one of the most widely used, influential products on earth. Now, Altman is plotting an aggressive expansion into consumer hardware, brain-computer interfaces, and social media. …

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OpenAI abandons plan to become a for-profit company

2025-05-05T20:40:08-04:00

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

OpenAI chairman Bret Taylor says the company is abandoning its effort to switch from a nonprofit to a for-profit entity after "hearing from civic leaders and engaging in constructive dialogue with the offices of the Attorney General of Delaware and the Attorney General of California." Both attorneys general have oversight of OpenAI's nonprofit status and could have blocked its planned restructuring, which Elon Musk, Meta, and others have publicly protested.

Now, OpenAI's nonprofit board - the one that briefly fired CEO Sam Altman - will continue to oversee its commercial subsidiary, which is being changed from a capped, for-profit business …

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OpenAI has a Studio Ghibli problem

2025-04-04T08:43:06-04:00

When you can create art just by asking for it, what might you create? If you're anything like the internet these last few days, you'd create some lovely things - stylized family portraits, a thousand different looks for the Distracted Boyfriend meme - and some truly, deeply, unfathomably horrifying ones. But most of all, it turns out, you'd turn everything, everything into a Studio Ghibli creation.

On this episode of The Vergecast, we talk a lot about the Ghibli-ification of everything this week. The Verge's Kylie Robison joins the show to explain OpenAI's new image generator inside ChatGPT, which is vastly more powerful and accurate than a …

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OpenAI says ‘our GPUs are melting’ as it limits ChatGPT image generation requests

2025-03-28T16:44:54-04:00

The fervor around ChatGPT's more accessible (and more advanced) image generation capabilities has forced OpenAI to "temporarily" put a rate limit on image generation requests, according to CEO Sam Altman. "It's super fun seeing people love images in ChatGPT, but our GPUs are melting," he posted on X today. Altman didn't specify what the rate limit is, but said the safeguard "hopefully" won't need to be in place for very long as OpenAI tries to increase its efficiency in handling the avalanche of requests.

it's super fun seeing people love images in chatgpt.

but our GPUs are melting.

we are going to temporarily introduce some rate limits whil …

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ChatGPT is turning everything into Studio Ghibli art — and it got weird fast

2025-03-28T23:34:44-04:00

AI-generated images have made significant progress since the days of abstract renderings and glitchy amalgamations. OpenAI's newly released "Images for ChatGPT" has an uncanny ability to nail depth, shadows, and even text. It's unleashed a frenzy of people recreating a familiar style: Hayao Miyazaki's work at Studio Ghibli. The art style was already ubiquitous across the internet, thanks to its comforting, soft aesthetic (just look at Lofi girl) - and now, it's a fully automated formula.

The trend kicked off pretty wholesomely. Couples transformed portraits, pet owners generated cartoonish cats, and many people are busily Ghibli-fying their …

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OpenAI rolls out image generation powered by GPT-4o to ChatGPT

2025-03-28T16:43:18-04:00

OpenAI is integrating new image generation capabilities directly into ChatGPT starting today - this feature is dubbed "Images in ChatGPT." Users can now use GPT-4o to generate images within ChatGPT itself.

This initial release focuses solely on image creation and will be available across ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Team, and Free subscription tiers. The free tier's usage limit is the same as DALL-E, spokesperson Taya Christianson told The Verge, but added that they "didn't have a specific number to share" and "these may change over time based on demand." Per the ChatGPT FAQ, free users were previously able to generate "three images per day with DALL …

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OpenAI reshuffles leadership as Sam Altman pivots to technical focus

2025-03-24T14:14:46-04:00

In a significant executive shuffle announced Monday, OpenAI is expanding COO Brad Lightcap's responsibilities while CEO Sam Altman shifts his attention more toward the company's technical direction. The news was first reported by Bloomberg.

Lightcap will now "oversee day-to-day operations," international expansion, and manage key partnerships with tech giants like Microsoft and Apple, according to Bloomberg. OpenAI has also promoted Mark Chen to chief research officer (he was recently SVP of research) and Julia Villagra to chief people officer (she was formerly VP of people).

"OpenAI has grown a lot. We remain focused on the same core - pu …

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What does OpenAI really want from Trump?

2025-03-19T11:35:27-04:00

When AI giant OpenAI submitted its "freedom-focused" policy proposal to the White House's AI Action Plan last Thursday, it gave the Trump administration an industry wishlist: use trade laws to export American AI dominance against the looming threat of China, loosen copyright restrictions for training data (also to fight China), invest untold billions in AI infrastructure (again: China), and stop states from smothering it with hundreds of new laws.

But specifically, one law: SB 1047, California's sweeping, controversial, and for now, defeated AI safety bill.

Hundreds of AI-related bills are flooding state governments nationwide, and hundred …

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Hundreds of celebrities warn against letting OpenAI and Google ‘freely exploit’ Hollywood

2025-03-19T11:35:38-04:00

More than 400 members of the entertainment industry have signed a letter pushing back on OpenAI and Google's proposal to allow AI models to train on copyrighted content, as reported earlier by Variety. The letter claims both companies "are arguing for a special government exemption" that would allow them to "freely exploit" creative industries.

The letter, which comes in response to the Trump administration's request for feedback on its incoming AI Action Plan, is signed by stars like Ben Stiller, Mark Ruffalo, Cynthia Eviro, Cate Blanchett, Taika Waititi, Ayo Edebiri, Aubrey Plaza, Guillermo del Toro, Natasha Lyonne, Paul McCartney, and ma …

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OpenAI and Google ask the government to let them train AI on content they don’t own

2025-03-14T15:44:09-04:00

OpenAI and Google are pushing the US government to allow their AI models to train on copyrighted material. Both companies outlined their stances in proposals published this week, with OpenAI arguing that applying fair use protections to AI "is a matter of national security."

The proposals come in response to a request from the White House, which asked governments, industry groups, private sector organizations, and others for input on President Donald Trump's "AI Action Plan." The initiative is supposed to "enhance America's position as an AI powerhouse," while preventing "burdensome requirements" from impacting innovation.

In its comment, …

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