ChatGPT creator OpenAI is reportedly building its own social network, according to multiple sources.
This unexpected move would put CEO Sam Altman in a direct face-off with social media bosses Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk – with whom he’s hardly the best of friends as it is. Expect some virtual fireworks!
What’s it All About?
While still in early stages, sources say OpenAI has cooked up an internal prototype featuring a social feed built around ChatGPT’s image generation capabilities.
Altman has been quietly gathering feedback about the project, although nobody knows yet whether this will be a standalone app or just another tab in ChatGPT (which, by the way, became the most downloaded app globally last month – not too shabby).
The timing makes sense. OpenAI just bagged a $40 billion funding round led by SoftBank, boosting its valuation to around $300 billion. With that kind of cash, why not try to conquer the social media world with an AI-powered version of X or Facebook?
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Tech Bros at War
The social network buzz adds yet another episode to the Altman-Musk drama series that’s been unfolding like a tech industry soap opera.
What began as a partnership has devolved into public potshots and legal paperwork, with Musk suing OpenAI last year for abandoning its nonprofit mission.
Then came February’s plot twist – Musk’s unsolicited $97.4 billion offer to buy OpenAI outright. Altman’s comeback? A dismissive “no thanks” paired with a cheeky counter-offer to buy Twitter for just $9.74 billion.
Perhaps Altman’s innocuous February Tweet about creating a social platform wasn’t quite as off-the-cuff as it first seemed. Meanwhile, Meta lurks in the wings with its own AI-powered social feed plans.
ok fine maybe we’ll do a social app https://t.co/663VkHN4qB
— Sam Altman (@sama) February 27, 2025
The Real Gold Rush: Your Data
Let’s be honest about what’s really at stake here – your posts, pictures, and hot takes.
While Meta has Facebook and Instagram’s endless stream of content, and Musk can pipe X’s content straight into Grok, OpenAI is left scraping the internet’s leftovers.
“The Grok integration with X has made everyone jealous,” confessed one source from a rival AI lab to The verge. “Especially how people create viral tweets by getting it to say something stupid.” Ah, progress.
Image Generation to Take Center Stage?
Reading between the lines, it looks like OpenAI might be betting on visuals as their social edge. The internal test apparently centers around ChatGPT’s image generation – suggesting they’re thinking beyond text-based posting.
This aligns with ChatGPT’s recent updates, which carved out dedicated space for AI-generated images.
With projected 2025 revenue tripling to $12.7 billion, they can certainly afford to gamble.
Sam’s Social Gambit: Yay or Nay?
Between lawsuits, regulatory scrutiny, and the massive “Stargate Project” infrastructure deal, OpenAI already has plenty on its plate.
Still, not satisfied with AI pre-eminence, Altman seems determined to stretch OpenAI beyond its chatbot roots. A social network would mark their boldest push yet to own not just the AI that powers our digital lives, but the spaces where we share them too.
Will this social experiment ever see daylight, or join the graveyard of half-launched tech platforms?
For now, we wait to see if Altman’s social aspirations materialize – or if they’ll just linger in limbo like an unactioned friend request.
