OpenAI Readies New Open-Source AI Model

OpenAI is preparing to release a new open-source language model to the public, according to a person who has knowledge of the plan.

The move comes as open-source alternatives to ChatGPT multiply. Meta released models in February that gave some researchers access to sophisticated models that they quickly turned into software that can rival proprietary technology from Google and OpenAI. Open-source engineers can also choose from technology from Laion, a German nonprofit, as well as Databricks and Stability AI.

OpenAI hasn’t open-sourced its language models since 2019. But the sophistication of Meta’s models could put pressure on OpenAI and Google, which previously open-sourced some less-capable models, to make even better software available to open-source engineers.

OpenAI is unlikely to release a model that is competitive with the proprietary model it’s selling, GPT. Unlike Meta, which doesn’t sell access to its AI, OpenAI’s $27 billion private valuation depends on a future in which the most sophisticated AI for commercial purposes isn’t open source.