Sam Altman, Co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, speaks during the Italian Tech Week 2024 at OGR Officine Grandi Riparazioni on September 25, 2024 in Turin, Italy.
OpenAI’s “12 Days of Shipmas” campaign, which concluded on Friday, aimed to showcase the company’s new features and tools while also having some fun. However, the company faces significant challenges ahead, particularly from its co-founder Elon Musk, who now runs rival startup xAI and is engaged in a heated legal battle with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Musk’s influence is expected to increase as part of the incoming Trump administration, which could have a major impact on OpenAI’s future. OpenAI has a valuation of $157 billion, achieved in the two years since the company launched its viral chatbot, ChatGPT, and kicked off the boom in generative AI.
The company has been releasing new features and tools, including the public launch of Sora, its video-generation tool, and the ability to talk to ChatGPT via a new phone number. OpenAI also announced its newest frontier model, o3, as well as o3 mini.
However, the company faces stiff competition from rivals such as Amazon-backed Anthropic, which has been attracting top talent and has seen its market share grow. OpenAI’s market share in enterprise AI has declined from 50% to 34%, according to a recent report.
The company is also facing tension with its lead investor, Microsoft, which has named OpenAI as a competitor in its annual report. OpenAI has given Microsoft a non-voting board seat, but the relationship between the two companies appears to be complicated.
Musk’s new role in the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) could give him influence over federal agencies’ budgets, staffing, and regulations in ways that favor his companies. OpenAI did not provide a comment for this story, and Musk did not respond to a request for comment.
