ChatGPT maker OpenAI, the giant that led the artificial intelligence boom in the last two and a half years, is now said to be also working on its own X-like social media network, according to a report by The Verge on Tuesday, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter.
There is an internal prototype focused on ChatGPT's image generation that has a social feed, the report said.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been privately asking outsiders for feedback about the project, which is still in early stages, according to The Verge. The report said it is unclear whether the company plans to release the social network as a separate application or integrate it into ChatGPT.
The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The potential move could escalate tensions between Altman and billionaire Elon Musk – the owner of X and an OpenAI co-founder who left the startup in 2018 before it emerged as a front-runner in the generative artificial intelligence race.
The feud has intensified in recent months. In February, a consortium of investors led by Musk made an unsolicited $97.4 billion bid for the control of OpenAI, only to be rejected by Altman with a swift "no thank you."
Musk had sued the ChatGPT maker and Altman last year, alleging they had abandoned OpenAI's original goal of developing AI for the benefit of humanity, not corporate gain.
OpenAI countersued Musk earlier this month, accusing him of a pattern of harassment and attempting to derail its shift to a for-profit model. The two parties will begin a jury trial in spring next year.
An OpenAI social network could also put the company in direct competition with Facebook-owner Meta, which is reportedly working on a standalone Meta AI service. In February, Altman responded to X over media reports on Meta's plans, saying, "OK, fine. Maybe we'll do a social app."
Both Meta and X have access to a massive amount of data – public content posted by users on their social media platforms – on which they train their AI models.
