OpenAI has for years relied on a small, nimble team, composed primarily of researchers, to develop impressive artificial intelligence models rivaling those from Google and Microsoft. Now the seven-year-old startup is acting more like a traditional enterprise software company by building a sales team and aggressively courting customers to use its AI.
The company’s transformation from research-focused startup to deal closer began last year. Months before its ChatGPT chatbot seized the world’s attention, OpenAI began approaching companies to demonstrate its then-unreleased GPT-4 model, pitching them on paying to use the model in their software, several companies told The Information.
