Recently, OpenAI is at a critical juncture, transitioning from a non-profit laboratory to a profit-making company and preparing for a new round of massive fundraising. However, the company is experiencing internal turmoil, with several top executives, including the Chief Technology Officer and Chief Research Officer, leaving one after another, sparking concerns about OpenAI's future direction.
It is reported that Apple unexpectedly withdrew from participating in OpenAI's latest $6.5 billion fundraising round, causing the financing plan to cool down. Despite OpenAI's expected revenue of $300 million this year, a staggering increase of 1700%, the company anticipates a loss of $5 billion, casting doubts on its profitability prospects.
Some employees express concerns about OpenAI's current state, believing that while pursuing rapid growth, the company has potential safety issues in its product testing phase, which could lead to a decline in competitive advantage. Since CEO Altman's return last year, the company has actively pushed for improvements in products like ChatGPT and promoted artificial intelligence technology globally, with plans to invest heavily in building AI chips and data centers. However, the rapid expansion of the company team within a year poses significant challenges to the management structure.
Meanwhile, OpenAI is facing fierce competition from rivals like Anthropic and xAI, and tech investors are also concerned about the frequent changes in the company's executives. In public, Altman stated that the transformed OpenAI will be stronger. However, investors are cautious about the internal turmoil, believing it could foreshadow a significant crisis for OpenAI's development. The future of OpenAI remains to be seen, whether it can maintain its technological leadership while pursuing commercialization.