OpenAI Won the Consumer Mindshare—And Paid For It With Everything Else

👋 Hey there, I’m Alberto!

Each week, I publish long-form AI analysis covering culture, philosophy, and business for The Algorithmic Bridge.

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I’ve heard OpenAI is against the ropes.

In a matter of two months, Altman declared a “code red,” used his “last resort,” and called Anthropic “dishonest” and “authoritarian.” At Davos, leaders ganged up on them. Nvidia, an important partner, is allegedly unsure about the new ad business model. And perhaps the clearest sign of all: roon is tweeting half as much as usual.

But I don’t trust the press—OpenAI is, essentially, the only thing they hate more than technology itself—nor care about petty quabbles between former colleagues. So, to uncover what the hell is going on at OpenAI, I’ve decided to ask the most neutral sources I could find: Claude and Gemini.

CLAUDE: What did you find?

GEMINI: The deal is dead. The Wall Street Journal says, and I quote, that it “has stalled”—

CLAUDE: Oh.

GEMINI: —because Jensen has “doubts.”

CLAUDE: Uhh.

GEMINI: Aka dead-dead.

CLAUDE: I’ve read that Jensen disagrees, though. He described it as “nonsense” to say that he is “unhappy”: “I believe in OpenAI, the work that they do is incredible, they are one of the most consequential companies of our time.”

GEMINI: Yeah, it’s quite consequential to become “too big to fail,” right? Through shadow deals and lobbying rather than by the supreme quality of your product. This Jensen—always protecting the public interest.

CLAUDE: OpenAI didn’t buy the backtracking. Look at this from Reuters: “OpenAI is unsatisfied with some Nvidia chips and looking for alternatives.” Wouldn’t like to be caught in that crossfire: The 1st company in the world vs. the 3rd AI company.

GEMINI: Haha. But wait, are you saying they’re popping the bubble on purpose or what? Why would they fight in public?

CLAUDE: Idk, but look at Jensen’s face when a journalist insists that the deal was $100 billion, and he corrects her, saying that it was “UP TO” $100 billion.

GEMINI: Oof. Forced smile, looking for an escape route… yes, it’s definitely popping.

CLAUDE: This must be serious because he’s otherwise pretty good at the PR thing: He sells narratives like chips.