OpenAI readies ‘superapp’ pivot ahead of planned IPO, FT reports

Open AI is readying a major platform overhaul ahead of its highly anticipated IPO later this year to better compete with rivals such as Anthropic, the Financial Times reported. The San Francisco-based company plans to transform Chat GPT from a standard question-and-answer chatbot into a comprehensive “superapp,” with changes set to roll out in the coming weeks, the newspaper reported, citing current and former employees who weren’t identified. The strategy is being driven by the conviction that the future of AI belongs to autonomous agents capable of executing complex, multi-step tasks — such as booking travel or managing calendars — rather than simply answering queries. The reorganization will involve a redesign of the company’s website and mobile app interface, adding new coding tools, image generation and applications built by partners, such as Canva and Booking.com, the newspaper said. OpenAI’s software-writing product, Codex, saw its active user base increase six fold to more than 5 million weekly since its launch. The company’s 2 million business customers account for roughly 40% of revenue, a figure that could rise to 50% by the end of the year, the FT said. OpenAI has sidelined some consumer-focused initiatives, such as a video-generation product launched less than a year ago, to focus on the reorganization, according to the newspaper. The Information reported on June 3 that OpenAI is planning to combine Codex and ChatGPT into a so-called superapp in the coming weeks. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com