Colleagues and friends, we all woke up this morning (hopefully after our first cup of coffee) and read the insane news that VCs are fighting to get in on the $6B raise that OpenAI is closing and OpenAI has now declared itself valuation to be a $150B. This is in addition to all the many billions that OpenAI has raised to date. News about this is abundant today. You can follow, but here are some considerations (amid OpenAI euphoria):

1. OpenAI is banking heavily on the very strong support from Microsoft and their liaison. It seems they are also counting Google on their side. But wait: Both Microsoft and Google have very large Gen AI initiatives.
2. They are dismissing the very strong play and role of Gen AI giants such as Amazon, Meta, IBM, and others who are also critical players in Gen AI.
****
And remember: Enterprises will adopt Gen AI via close partnerships with cloud and integration service partners such as Amazon, Microsoft, and IBM. These are the critical enterprise AI transformation partners worldwide!
****
3. Tons of other players in AI are emerging. OpenAI will need to show astronomical revenue growth given the expectations it is setting. Can it be the trillion-dollar company it is touting to be?
4. How will bills like SB 1074 (when it becomes law) with heavy regulations on AI, impact OpenAI’s dominance?
5. Is it dangerous and logical to have one player assume such a critical role in Gen AI?
6. What happens to open innovation when you arm just one company, OpenAI, with billions of dollars of funding in Gen AI, which will monopolize the hiring market and perhaps impact free open innovation for the rest?

Many questions remain. The fact is, that as we speak, there is a fierce battle going on between the VC giants to get a seat at this investment table. Do we really want just one company, OpenAI, to have so much power and funding in building foundational models (LLMs), as opposed to many big players? Is this good for society and how may it impact the thousands of startups that will die because of the space/funding OpenAI is taking?

I believe dismissing the many other large players in Gen AI is short-sighted and naive. Perhaps there should be less ‘ChatGPT-magic-juice-drinking’ and more realism about the real and vibrant landscape of all Gen AI players and what may be best for our goals, for businesses, and for humans! I suggest people explore what is coming from the mega Gen AI players other than OpenAI! Progress at Amazon, Meta, IBM, and others is phenomenal!

Are we funding innovation or creating a monster monopoly? I need my second cup of coffee now for sure. More coming to you soon!

Imagine | Disrupt | Innovate | Lead