6 ms·

Seems like the CEO is a one-trick pony, making everything he touches a startup incubator. How does this fulfill OpenAI's mission of bringing about AGI?

by ipsum2 5y ago

diamond_hands 5y ago
I'd say money is cheap right now and fund managers would rather have people with information asymmetry invest their money, which OpenAI does via their API. I think it's a natural fit to invest in companies that use their API. This isn't a new idea, Stripe and Slack both do this.
epberry 5y ago
Are you calling Sam Altman a one trick pony? Quick list of his "tricks": - founded company, raised $40M - proved YC can scale - numerous strong individual investments (Humanyze, Routable) - CEO of OpenAI leading to $1B investment from Microsoft If allocating capital well makes someone a one trick pony, then I think we need many more ponies in the world.
- Judgmentality 5y ago
  Even Sam Altman considers his own company to be a failure - you fail to mention they basically sold for as much as they raised so it wasn't a success for most (if any) investors. Also I don't think Sam proved YC can scale, in fact I think it's the opposite and we just haven't had enough time to watch it play out. I certainly hold YC in lower regard than I used to, and I'm a YC alum (alternate account). He is a successful investor, I can't deny that. But he hasn't proven anything with OpenAI yet. And I think anybody that actually followed OpenAI from the beginning is really disappointed in how "open" it really is. The fact that you point to fundraising as proof of success is so bizarre. By that logic WeWork should be your favorite company of the last decade.
CheezeIt 5y ago
Investing in startups that use AI in their course of business would be one way to expand the surface area of innovation that would lead do that end.
breck 5y ago
YCombinator is a tech company whose business model is investing. Seems like OpenAI could be the same.
- stingraycharles 5y ago
  How is that different from a VC that invests in tech startups? What, exactly, is YC’s tech?
  - kopochameleon 5y ago
    > they wonder, before clicking the reply button on a popular piece of YC tech
    - theplague42 5y ago
      Nobody uses HN because it's an amazing piece of software.
      - andyxor 5y ago
        HN is actually an amazing piece of software in its own minimalistic way
      - nexuist 5y ago
        Yeah we do. HN made a lot of intentional choices to avoid becoming a generic social media clone. There's a reason why nobody is replying with reaction GIFs in the comments or linking to rickrolls. HN is a unique piece of software that goes hand in hand with the moderation that augments it.
    - typon 5y ago
      The success of HN is from its moderation, not from its tech.
    - stingraycharles 5y ago
      By that definition any business that develops an app or website or forum software is a tech company. Sounds an awful lot like WeWork trying to brand itself as a tech company.

Seems like the CEO is a one-trick pony, making everything he touches a startup incubator. How does this fulfill OpenAI's mission of bringing about AGI?

by ipsum2 5y ago

Seems like the CEO is a one-trick pony, making everything he touches a startup incubator. How does this fulfill OpenAI's mission of bringing about AGI?

diamond_hands 5y ago

I'd say money is cheap right now and fund managers would rather have people with information asymmetry invest their money, which OpenAI does via their API. I think it's a natural fit to invest in companies that use their API. This isn't a new idea, Stripe and Slack both do this.

epberry 5y ago

Are you calling Sam Altman a one trick pony? Quick list of his "tricks": - founded company, raised $40M - proved YC can scale - numerous strong individual investments (Humanyze, Routable) - CEO of OpenAI leading to $1B investment from Microsoft If allocating capital well makes someone a one trick pony, then I think we need many more ponies in the world.

Judgmentality 5y ago
Even Sam Altman considers his own company to be a failure - you fail to mention they basically sold for as much as they raised so it wasn't a success for most (if any) investors. Also I don't think Sam proved YC can scale, in fact I think it's the opposite and we just haven't had enough time to watch it play out. I certainly hold YC in lower regard than I used to, and I'm a YC alum (alternate account). He is a successful investor, I can't deny that. But he hasn't proven anything with OpenAI yet. And I think anybody that actually followed OpenAI from the beginning is really disappointed in how "open" it really is. The fact that you point to fundraising as proof of success is so bizarre. By that logic WeWork should be your favorite company of the last decade.

CheezeIt 5y ago

Investing in startups that use AI in their course of business would be one way to expand the surface area of innovation that would lead do that end.

breck 5y ago

YCombinator is a tech company whose business model is investing. Seems like OpenAI could be the same.

stingraycharles 5y ago
How is that different from a VC that invests in tech startups? What, exactly, is YC’s tech?
- kopochameleon 5y ago
  > they wonder, before clicking the reply button on a popular piece of YC tech
  - theplague42 5y ago
    Nobody uses HN because it's an amazing piece of software.
    - andyxor 5y ago
      HN is actually an amazing piece of software in its own minimalistic way
    - nexuist 5y ago
      Yeah we do. HN made a lot of intentional choices to avoid becoming a generic social media clone. There's a reason why nobody is replying with reaction GIFs in the comments or linking to rickrolls. HN is a unique piece of software that goes hand in hand with the moderation that augments it.
  - typon 5y ago
    The success of HN is from its moderation, not from its tech.
  - stingraycharles 5y ago
    By that definition any business that develops an app or website or forum software is a tech company. Sounds an awful lot like WeWork trying to brand itself as a tech company.