OpenAI saw a series of high-profile departures in 2024, raising questions about its internal dynamics. In September, chief technology officer Mira Murati announced her resignation after more than six years. Her departure followed earlier exits by other cofounders and executives.In May, chief scientist Ilya Sutskever left to launch a new AI venture, ‘Safe Superintelligence’. August saw cofounder John Schulman joining rival AI company Anthropic, while Greg Brockman, another cofounder, went on a sabbatical until the year’s end. These exits have fuelled speculation about OpenAI’s ability to retain top talent as competition in the AI sector intensifies.
Whistleblower’s death
On a tragic note, in December, Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI researcher who had raised concerns about the company’s potential copyright violations, was found dead in his San Francisco apartment. The circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear.
The company later issued a statement, confirming they had been in contact with Balaji’s family and offering their full support.
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The Musk-Altman divide
The strained relationship between Sam Altman and Elon Musk continued to generate headlines. Musk had co-founded OpenAI with Altman in 2015. This year, Musk escalated his criticisms, accusing OpenAI of abandoning its original mission as a non-profit dedicated to AI research for public benefit.
In December, Musk petitioned a US federal court to block OpenAI’s transition to a for-profit entity. He has also criticised the company’s collaborations with corporations like Microsoft, arguing that these partnerships compromise its independence and goals.
Also Read: Elon Musk reacts to OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji’s death with cryptic post on X
OpenAI evolution
Despite internal challenges, OpenAI continued to enhance ChatGPT, cementing its appeal to a global audience. In May, the company introduced GPT-4o, a model capable of processing voice, text, and visual inputs.
In July, OpenAI launched GPT-4o Mini, a smaller and more cost-effective model aimed at reducing energy consumption and expanding accessibility. This development reflects OpenAI’s efforts to address criticisms about the environmental impact and affordability of advanced AI technologies.
In November, the Altman-led company ventured into the search engine market with SearchGPT, a prototype tool offering real-time internet access. Initially available to a limited user base, OpenAI expanded the internet search functionality to all ChatGPT users by December, intensifying competition with Google in the search domain.
Also Read: All you need to know about ChatGPT’s evolution into AI web search engine
The company’s annual ‘Shipmas’ initiative in December saw the release of the o1 model, which replaced the earlier preview version known by the codename ‘Strawberry.’ This updated model is now available to ChatGPT Plus and Team users worldwide. Additionally, ChatGPT became accessible through WhatsApp.
Also Read: OpenAI’s o1 takes a leap with model that reasons like us
OpenAI has publicly released its new video generator Sora but the company won’t let most users depict people as it monitors for patterns of misuse. Users of a premium version of OpenAI’s flagship product ChatGPT can now use Sora to instantly create AI-generated videos based on written commands.
OpenAI also reported a surge in ChatGPT’s user base, which reached over 200 million weekly active users by August, doubling its numbers from the previous year.
