OpenAI Admits GPT-5 Won't Launch This Year, Focuses on Developing Existing AI Models

OpenAI Admits GPT-5 Won't Launch This Year, Focuses on Developing Existing AI Models OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed in a Reddit AMA on Thursday that the company's highly anticipated next-generation large language model, GPT-5, will not be released this year. Altman stated that OpenAI is currently prioritizing the development of existing models, focusing on their reasoning and problem-solving capabilities

OpenAI Admits GPT-5 Won't Launch This Year, Focuses on Developing Existing AI Models

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed in a Reddit AMA on Thursday that the company's highly anticipated next-generation large language model, GPT-5, will not be released this year. Altman stated that OpenAI is currently prioritizing the development of existing models, focusing on their reasoning and problem-solving capabilities.

"All the models are getting more complex, and we can't release as much as we'd like at once," he explained. OpenAI faces computational resource constraints and needs to carefully allocate resources to "a lot of great ideas."

While GPT-5 has no confirmed release date, Altman revealed that OpenAI will be releasing "some very impressive model releases" later this year. These releases won't be named GPT-5 but will contain significant improvements and new features.

OpenAI is facing pressure from competitors, including well-funded startups like Google and Anthropic, which are continuously improving their AI models. OpenAI completed its latest funding round earlier this month at a valuation of $157 billion, projecting annualized revenue of $3.7 billion but also losses of approximately $5 billion.

Besides the delay of GPT-5, OpenAI also revealed some details about the release plans for other models and features. For example, new versions of the video generation model Sora and the image generation model DALL-E currently have no fixed release dates. OpenAI's product chief, Kevin Weil, stated that Sora's release has been delayed because OpenAI needs to ensure its reliability in terms of safety, simulation, and other aspects, while also scaling up computational resources.

Altman said that the next version of DALL-E is "definitely worth the wait," although there's no confirmed release plan yet. He also added that the visual capabilities of the Advanced Voice Mode (AVM) in ChatGPT also do not have a concrete release date.

Srinivas Narayanan, OpenAI's VP of Engineering, revealed that ChatGPT's camera mode also doesn't have a "specific release date."

Earlier Thursday, OpenAI launched a search feature called ChatGPT Search, aiming to compete better with search engines like Google, Microsoft Bing, and Perplexity. ChatGPT Search allows users to easily access timely information, including the latest sports scores, stock quotes, news, weather, and more, just like searching on the web. It is powered by real-time web search and partnerships with news and data providers.

OpenAI began beta testing a search engine prototype called SearchGPT in July. However, this product was separate from the ChatGPT app and was only available to a limited number of users. The new search feature is powered by OpenAI's GPT-4 model and is planned to be made available to ChatGPT Plus and Team users on mobile and web, starting Thursday. OpenAI's enterprise and educational customers are expected to experience these features within the next few weeks, while free users will have to wait a few more months.

Since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in November 2022, Alphabet investors have been concerned that OpenAI could take market share from Google by offering consumers a new way to search for information online. This move also puts OpenAI in competition with Microsoft, despite Microsoft's investment of nearly $14 billion in OpenAI.

In response to a question about whether ChatGPT Search uses Bing as its backend search engine, Narayanan replied, "We utilize a number of services, Bing being a significant part of that."

In a post on X, Altman stated that search has been "our most popular feature launched since ChatGPT."

The Reddit discussion also focused on OpenAI's recent controversy regarding its transformation into a for-profit structure and a series of high-profile executive departures. Narayanan, responding to questions on this topic, pointed out, "While we're sad to see some of our colleagues move on from us, we have a very talented team and many new folks joining us. We're constantly releasing updates, which is really important."

For Altman, Reddit is more than just a platform for communication and interaction. He is also a board member of Reddit and one of the company's largest investors. Following Reddit's release of better-than-expected financial results, its share price surged 42% on Wednesday and continued to rise 3.2% on Thursday, boosting the value of Altman's holdings to nearly $1.5 billion.