You’ll see Alcatraz Island from San Francisco’s Mediterranean restaurant and there’s a $100 fish entree on the menu. As I talk a bit with other reporters, Openai CEO Sam Altman jumps over my left door. Altman looks down at his naked iPhone and shows us everything.
Of course, I soon realize that the Openai billionaire CEO, who employs Apple veteran Jony Ive, cares about storing the original iPhone design more than it costs a $1,000 IT replacement.
“Listen, we’ll ship devices that will be so beautiful,” said Altman, referring to Openai and Ive’s upcoming AI devices. “If you put a case on it, I’ll personally corner you,” he joked.
Altman had gathered around 12 technical reporters to him and other Openai executives to join him and other Openai executives for dinners on record (and desserts outside of recording). The night raised more questions than I answered.
For example, why is Nick Turley, vice president of ChatGpt, kindly handing over a grilled lamb skewer just a week after launching the GPT-5? Was this to make me write something great about the launch of Openai’s biggest AI model yet?
Unlike the GPT-4, it far surpasses and challenges its rivals for what AI can do, and the GPT-5 works roughly on par with Google and the human model. Openai has revived the GPT-4O and ChatGPT model pickers after expressing concerns about the GPT-5 tone and its model router.
However, all night, it became clear that this dinner was beyond GPT-5 and was about Openai’s future. Openai executives gave the impression that the launch of the AI model was less important than when the GPT-4 was launched in 2023. After all, Openai is currently a very different company, focusing on maintaining a legacy player in search, consumer hardware, and enterprise software.
TechCrunch Events
San Francisco
|
October 27th-29th, 2025
Openai shared some new details about these efforts.
Altman said Fidji Simo, CEO of Openai’s upcoming application, will oversee multiple consumer apps besides ChatGpt. Simo is set to start work on Openai in just a few weeks and may oversee the launch of an AI-powered browser that Openai is reportedly developing to compete with Chrome.
Altman suggested that Openai even consider buying Chrome. This could be an offer that would be taken more seriously than a Perplexity bid if it becomes available. “If chrome really sells, we should look at it,” he said before looking at us all and asking, “Does it actually sell? I thought it wouldn’t happen.”
Shimo may also end up running AI-powered social media apps. This is what Openai CEO said he was interested in exploring. In fact, Altman said he “nothing” inspires him about how it is used on social media today, adding that he is interested in “whether it is possible to build a cooler kind of social experience with AI.”
Openai’s COOs Turley and Brad Lightcap mostly gave Altman the floor and sipping wine with other sitting guests, and also confirmed reports that Altman is fusing Brain-Computer Interface startup Labs to compete with Elon Musuralink. (“We haven’t made that deal yet. We want to do it.”)
How the company is intertwined is still unclear with Openai’s models and devices. Altman described it only as “the company we invest in.”
However, for all the talks on the browser and brainchip, the elephant in the room remained a GPT-5 Raffle reception. Ultimately, the conversation went back to the model and encouraged our group to have dinner in the first place.
Turley and Altman say they learned a lot from the experience.
“We justly thought it was ruining it,” said Altman, who criticized the GPT-4o without telling users. Altman said Openai will provide a more clear “transition period” for users when it condemns AI models in the future.
Turley also said Openai has already rolled out new updates to make GPT-5 responses “warmer” but is trying not to intensify negative behaviors by users as they are not sicophantic.
“The GPT-5 was very important. I like it. I use the robotic personality. I’m German. “But a lot of people aren’t. They really like the fact that ChatGpt actually checks in with you.”
It’s a delicate balance that Openai strikes, especially considering that some users have developed dependencies on ChatGPT. According to Altman, Openai believes that less than 1% of ChatGPT users have unhealthy relationships.
Turley said Openai will work with mental health experts to develop a rubric to evaluate GPT-5 responses, ensuring that the AI model will push back unhealthy behavior.
That said, the GPT-5 does not seem to have hurt Openai’s business. In fact, Altman said Openai’s API traffic has doubled within 48 hours of the launch of the GPT-5, effectively “removing the GPU” thanks to all the demand.
In many ways, the night’s contradictions – a pity launch, record-breaking usage – reflect the strange reality of Openai for now.
Considering others whose companies are focused on data centers, robotics and energy, including Openai bets such as Browser, Brain Chips and AI Chatbots, Altman clearly has ambitions to run a company that is much larger than the ChatGpt maker. The final form may look like Google’s parent alphabet, but it may probably look even wider.
When the night collapses, it becomes clear that they have not gathered to look back at the GPT-5 at all. We were pitched to companies that wanted to surpass their well-known and controversial products.
It appears Openai will likely be made public as part of its photographs to meet its massive capital demands. In preparation, Altman wants to hone his relationship with the media. But he also hopes Openai will reach a place that is no longer defined by its best AI models.
Source link
