According to the Wall Street Journal, OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, is undergoing its most significant strategic transformation since its founding. Company executives confirmed at an internal meeting that they will re-prioritize their business, focusing limited resources on programming tools (Codex) and enterprise services, while "side tasks" such as the video generation tool Sora may face reduced resources.
Parting with the "All-in" Approach, Returning to Focus
Over the past year, OpenAI has adopted an aggressive multi-front strategy: from the search tool Atlas to e-commerce features, and various hardware attempts. CEO Altman once described this approach as "investing in a series of startups" within the company. However, this broad approach led to confusion in computing resource allocation and weakened its dominance in core areas.
The core motivation behind this transformation comes from the increasing pressure from its rival Anthropic. Unlike OpenAI's multi-pronged strategy, Anthropic has always focused on code and enterprise markets. Its products, such as Claude Code, have gained excellent reputation among developers and even caused stock market fluctuations, which served as a warning for OpenAI.
The Programming Arena Launches a "Counterattack"
To regain lost developer shares, OpenAI has already taken decisive measures last month:
Releasing GPT 5.4: This model, designed for professional collaboration, is redefining productivity.
Restarting Codex: The new version of Codex has more than 2 million weekly active users, nearly quadrupling since the beginning of the year.
Strengthening the Enterprise Edition (B-end): By collaborating with consulting companies, sending engineers directly into industries to assist with deployment, accelerating AI commercialization.
Preparing for IPO, Final Battle Scheduled for Q4?
Beneath the strategic adjustment lies the goal of delivering a stronger performance to the capital market. It is reported that OpenAI is actively preparing for an initial public offering (IPO), which could take place as early as the fourth quarter of 2026.
Fiyi Simo, CEO of OpenAI's application business, stated openly at the meeting: "We cannot be distracted by side tasks; we must regain our leading position in software development and enterprise customers." This "battle of focus" between the two major models will enter its most intense phase in the second half of the year.
