OpenAI is developing a social network to rival Elon Musk’s X, focusing on ChatGPT's image generation capabilities
OpenAI is reportedly working on a social network akin to Elon Musk’s X, with an emphasis on the image generation capabilities of ChatGPT.
The move would pit OpenAI against not just Meta, but also X, with both companies having ambitions to integrate social networking into their AI offerings. It’s not clear whether the social network would be a standalone app, or whether it would be integrated into ChatGPT – which is currently riding high as the most downloaded app in the world.
The news comes amid a backdrop of increasing tension between Sam Altman and Elon Musk. The pair have been at loggerheads since Musk made an unsolicited bid for OpenAI worth $97.4 billion in February. Altman rejected the offer with a simple: “no thank you.”
Musk was one of the original founders of OpenAI but left the company’s board in 2018. He has since sued the company, claiming it has strayed from its original mission. OpenAI has counter-sued Musk, claiming harassment.
A social platform could give OpenAI more opportunities to collect data, just as X helps Musk’s Grok and Meta uses user data to bolster its Llama AI.
Altman has acknowledged the competitive landscape. When news broke of Meta’s plans to launch AI within its social network, Altman responded: “OK, maybe we’ll do a social app.”
It’s very much early days for this project, but it shows OpenAI is thinking big and looking for growth opportunities amid sky-high expectations in the AI space.
