OpenAI has unveiled plans to release its first open-source language model since GPT-2, signaling a notable shift in the company's approach to AI development.

Opening up after capital boost: The decision to pivot towards open-source models aligns with OpenAI's recent capital infusion. The $40 billion funding round, led by SoftBank, is poised to bolster OpenAI's AI research efforts, expand computational infrastructure, and enhance tools like ChatGPT. The capital raise places OpenAI among the most valuable private companies globally, and signals strong investor confidence in its future.

Fresh market grab: OpenAI's renewed focus on open-source models is viewed by analysts as a strategic response to the evolving AI landscape, where collaboration and transparency are increasingly valued. The company is keen to carve out a share of the market currently dominated by Meta’s open-source Llama models and Mistral’s performant open LLMs, which have gained significant traction.

Sam reaches out: The company has said it is eager to engage with developers as it refines the new model. CEO Sam Altman said on X that OpenAI still had “some decisions to make, so we are hosting developer events to gather feedback and later play with early prototypes.” Altman said his company was “excited to see what developers build and how large companies and governments use it where they prefer to run a model themselves.”