SAN FRANCISCO: OpenAI plans to almost double its headcount by the end of 2026 as it seeks to fend off competition from companies such as Anthropic PBC and Alphabet Inc’s Google, according to the Financial Times.
The maker of artificial intelligence (AI) assistant ChatGPT will look to increase headcount to about 8,000 from about 4,500, the Financial Times said, citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter whom it didn’t identify.
The new hires will largely work across product development, engineering, research and sales, according to the report.
OpenAI has taken new office space in San Francisco to accommodate its growing staff count, taking its footprint in the city to more than one million sq ft, the newspaper added.
OpenAI didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The hiring plans come amid a race with competitors including Anthropic and Microsoft Corp to woo corporate customers using AI as coding assistants.
Firms like OpenAI have unveiled a number of AI models that can take on increasingly complicated tasks – from analysing company earnings reports to writing code and generating startlingly realistic-looking images and videos. — Bloomberg
