OpenAI executives are finalizing a significant strategic shift to refocus the company on programming and business users, acknowledging that their previous "do-it-all" approach has placed them in a defensive position.
Fidji Simo, Head of Application Business at OpenAI, previewed these changes during an all-hands meeting, indicating that top leadership, including CEO Sam Altman and Chief Research Officer Mark Chen, are actively evaluating which areas to deprioritize. Employees are expected to be informed of the changes within the coming weeks.
Simo told staff, "We cannot afford to miss opportunities by being distracted by side projects. We must boost productivity across the board, especially in the business sector."
Last year, OpenAI launched a series of new products, including the video generator Sora, a web browser named Atlas, a new hardware device, and e-commerce features for ChatGPT. Altman previously likened this strategy to "investing in a portfolio of startups" within OpenAI, an approach that helped cement the company's status as a pioneer in the AI era.
OpenAI is facing increasing pressure from rival Anthropic, which has emerged as a leading supplier in the enterprise AI space thanks to the success of its Claude Code and Cowork products. These products feature so-called "intelligent agents" capable of autonomously performing complex tasks for users, gaining popularity in Silicon Valley and even triggering a global stock sell-off last month.
Compared to OpenAI, Anthropic has a narrower product focus, concentrating primarily on enterprise and code markets. For instance, the company has not yet ventured into image or video generation products.
Both OpenAI and Anthropic have taken steps toward potential public listings, which could happen as early as this year. These plans have intensified the fierce competition between the two firms. Neither company has disclosed specific timelines, but OpenAI has reportedly discussed the possibility of an initial public offering in the fourth quarter.
Simo informed employees that Anthropic's success should serve as a wake-up call, emphasizing the need to reclaim leadership among software developers and enterprise customers.
Some current and former employees noted that last year's "do-everything" approach sometimes led to a lack of focus, making it difficult to discern OpenAI's strategic direction. While this is a common issue in many organizations, the stakes are higher at OpenAI and other cutting-edge labs due to the challenge of allocating limited computing resources efficiently.
These employees stated that computing resources were often reallocated at the last minute from one team to another, complicating the company's organizational structure. For example, OpenAI's Sora team reportedly operates under the research department, despite being responsible for one of the company's most high-profile product launches.
In September last year, OpenAI launched a standalone Sora app, combining its AI video generator with a new social media application similar to TikTok. The app briefly topped the Apple App Store charts, but user growth stagnated in the following months. The company now plans to integrate video generation capabilities into its flagship ChatGPT app.
Meanwhile, Anthropic has strengthened its lead in the rapidly growing coding sector by upgrading Claude Code last fall with a more advanced AI model. Many programmers spent their holidays extensively testing Claude Code's features, and it has become the tool of choice for software engineers at numerous tech companies.
In August, Altman hired Simo as Chief Applications Officer, a role with broad responsibilities spanning product development to finance. Simo has advocated for tighter integration between research and product teams and aims to align long-term investments, including hardware devices, with the goal of enhancing user productivity.
In the programming space, OpenAI regained some market share last month with the release of an updated Codex app and an upgraded model called GPT-5.4, designed specifically for professional use. Simo recently posted on X that Codex now has over two million weekly active users, a nearly fourfold increase since the beginning of the year.
The company has also sought partnerships with consulting firms and business allies, deploying engineers to accelerate AI adoption across industries. Commercial application of AI is a key driver of the technology's growth, and companies like OpenAI are seeking funding to support continued expansion.
OpenAI continues to benefit from its dominant position in the consumer market and the U.S. Department of Defense's designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk, which has made some businesses hesitant to adopt Anthropic's technology. Anthropic has sued the U.S. government over this decision.
"What we are doing is like responding to a red alert," Simo said during the all-hands meeting. "I don't think it's wise to label everything an alert."
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