Large-scale language model developer Openai is working on a new social media network and is placing the company in a collision course with Elon Musk’s X and Mark Zuckerberg meta platforms.
Citing an anonymous source, The Verge reported on April 15 that Openai is developing a “X-like social network” that combines ChatGpt image generation tools with social feeds.
It is unclear whether Openai will spin out its new social media platform or roll out its functionality to ChatGPT, sources say.
OpenAI has become one of the most powerful technology companies in the world following the overwhelming success of the ChatGPT model. The first-month advantage in the AI race allowed us to raise $40 billion at a $300 billion valuation in a fundraising agreement led by SoftBank Group.
Pivoting to social media – the natural landing site of AI companies that allow tools to create content and build chatbots for special tasks – will raise the ante in the ongoing battle between former colleagues Sam Altman and Elon Musk.
Related: OpenAI releases first “open” language model since GPT-2 in 2019
Masks and Altman: A complex history
The competition between the two entrepreneurs stems from OpenAI’s commercialization efforts and alleged abandonment of Altman’s mission to establish a startup as a nonprofit.
Musk and the investor group reportedly announced Openai’s $97.4 billion acquisition offer in February, but the proposed deal was clearly rejected by Altman, who went to social media to say “thank you.”
However, Altman had expressed interest in purchasing the X for $9.74 billion, or a tenth of OpenAI’s purchase bid. Kurt’s reaction may or may not have been true.
Musk responded to Altman’s post by calling him a “con man.”
Musk acquired former Twitter, X, in 2022, on a $44 billion deal. The platform remains a hotbed of social media engagement across the cryptocurrency industry.
On March 7, US President Donald Trump used X to provide a welcome statement at the “first White House Digital Assets Summit” in Washington, DC.
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