OpenAI is gearing up for something big and, according to some industry reports, will release its next generation GPT-5 AI model (codenamed Orion) in December. The model is expected to deliver ground-breaking new features, but will initially only be released to partner companies, not the consumer ChatGPT market.
The story, from The Verge, also suggests Microsoft is being given an inside track on this release, and could deliver a version for Azure sometime in November. If true, this would mark the first time that Microsoft has been given free rein to openly release such a major AI product before OpenAI itself.
Microsoft is the largest investor in OpenAI, but there's a fragile relationship between the two. They've been locked in negotiations for the past few months over how much ownership the Redmond giant should have once OpenAI goes public next year.
The other unknown is exactly what the new model will be called on release. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI recently suggested that the company may split the models into two streams: GPT and o1 models. But as with all things from Altman, this is likely to chop and change with the wind, as the company hunts for the best marketing edge.
As if this wasn’t enough, Altman has taken to X this morning to deny The Verge's report and called it "fake news".
fake news out of controlOctober 25, 2024
Altman went on to say, in a follow-up post, that although OpenAI has some "great stuff" in the pipeline, the subject of The Verge's report is "random fantasy".
dw plenty of great stuff coming your way, just offends me how media is willing to print random fantasyOctober 25, 2024
So...what's actually coming next?
Whatever the timing, it’s clear that we’re fast approaching a release of something big from the market leader. The AI arms race is heating up, with Anthropic this week having launched an astonishing new feature called Computer Use, which lets its Claude Sonnet 3.5 model take control of a computer, and complete actions out on the web just like a human would.
It’s a step change up from every other AI model, and OpenAI and the other players will be scrambling to deliver their own take on this innovative tech sooner rather than later.
In the meantime, we’re all going to have to grab the popcorn, strawberries and a handy chair, and watch this AI-related soap opera play out on social and mainstream media.
One thing is clear, all this "will they, won’t they" brouhaha won’t hurt OpenAI’s opening stock price one bit, as it heads for its hugely-anticipated IPO.
