OpenAI is reportedly developing a social media platform, a potential competitor to Musk’s X and Meta’s Instagram, that could mark a major shift in the AI company's expansion plans.

According to sources cited by CNBC and The Verge, OpenAI has begun testing a prototype social feed powered by ChatGPT’s image-generation tools.

The concept remains in early development, and it’s unclear whether the final product will become a standalone social app or be folded into the existing ChatGPT platform, which recently became the most downloaded app worldwide.

Altman vs. Musk, Again

The move signals a deepening of the long-running feud between Altman and Musk, once co-founders of OpenAI. Their split has grown increasingly public, especially since OpenAI pivoted from a nonprofit to a for-profit model.

In February, Musk made a $97.4 billion bid to acquire OpenAI, an offer Altman quickly rejected with a snarky online response, suggesting OpenAI might instead buy X for a tenth of that price.

If OpenAI proceeds with its social platform, it will also tread directly into Meta’s territory. Meta is reportedly working on a new app for its AI assistant that will include a social feed. When those plans surfaced earlier this year, Altman hinted at retaliation with a post on X: “ok fine maybe we’ll do a social app.”

A Strategic Data Play

Beyond one-upmanship, a social network would give OpenAI access to fresh, user-generated data, something both Meta and Musk’s xAI already heavily leverage to train AI models.

The social prototype might never reach the public, but its very existence points to OpenAI’s ambitions beyond chatbot technology. And for Sam Altman, stepping into the social media space might be less about joining the crowd and more about changing the game.

Source: Finance Magnates