Good AI dissects: OpenAI's partnership and its external strategy

Open AI CEO Sam Altman speaks to reporters after meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Monday. | KYODO

While OpenAI’s release of ChatGPT has taken the world by storm, there is a growing concern in Europe and the U.S. about how developers of AI tools will protect personal information and deal with the spread of misinformation or disinformation.

To alleviate such concerns, Sam Altman testified in a US Senate hearing explaining the importance of AI regulation. In his recent visit with the Japanese government, Sam Altman also exchanged views on the technological progress and merits of AI as well as its risks including privacy and copyright infringement. As part of these discussions, OpenAI is considering opening a local office where they can expand the AI services in the region. 

On the product front, OpenAI and Bain & Company have formed a global services alliance, which will bring together Bain & Company’s digital implementation capabilities and strategic expertise and OpenAI’s AI tools and platforms to help enterprise clients realize the value of AI. 

In November, OpenAI launched a $100 million Startup Fund and an accelerator program called Converge to incubate promising founders and companies developing new AI products. The Startup Fund, backed by investors including Microsoft, aims to make big bets in a small number of early-stage companies in fields where AI “can have a transformative effect,” according to OpenAI’s website.

From chip makers to legal assistance AI, OpenAI is investing in startups that focus on productivity, AI infrastructure, and more generative AI—a term popularized by ChatGPT that describes applications that can generate text, images, and other content based on simple prompts.

These picks align closely with OpenAI’s own research and product plans, which include GPT-4, OpenAI’s next-generation language model, and a potential video generator touted by CEO Sam Altman recently.

In addition to capital infusion, companies backed by OpenAI’s Startup Fund or Converge program will have access to OpenAI’s models and programming as well as support from the company’s research team.

Inspired by OpenAI’s strategies, Good AI will be a direct supporter of Coho Lab, an experimental incubator backed by the founders of Coho Deeptech and Midjourney. While GoodAI is not directly investing in Midjourney, we’re nonetheless excited to support new startups that have grown out of this collaboration and apply ground-breaking AI technologies in new domains.