Summary
- OpenAI chief Sam Altman urged would-be founders to bet on AI.
- He stated that the AI space is developing rapidly and is widely underestimated.
Sam Altman has some powerful advice for aspiring tech entrepreneurs: the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has made this the best time to start a company. In an interview with Garry Tan, the president and CEO of Y Combinator, Altman emphasized the immense opportunities that AI presents for new businesses. He believes that AI is a game-changing technology, offering unprecedented possibilities for innovation and growth.
Altman compared the current AI boom to other transformative moments in tech history, such as the advent of the internet, the rise of mobile technology, and the semiconductor revolution. He argued that each of these technological breakthroughs opened up new avenues for entrepreneurs to create and scale businesses. Now, with AI at the forefront, he sees a similar revolution taking place, where the potential to do more than ever before is within reach for those bold enough to seize it.
Reflecting on his own experiences, Altman pointed out that the rapid development of AI offers unique opportunities for those starting companies today. “With each successive major technological revolution, you’ve been able to do more than you could before,” he said. The advancements in AI, in particular, allow entrepreneurs to tap into new capabilities and solve problems in ways that were once thought impossible, providing a fertile ground for innovation.
However, Altman also acknowledged the challenges that come with launching a tech company. He credited much of OpenAI’s early success to the ability to secure funding at a critical juncture. Specifically, Altman noted that having access to financial resources from his previous ventures played a pivotal role in getting OpenAI off the ground. Without that initial capital, he suggested, it would have been difficult to attract other investors to the project in its early stages.
Despite the challenges, Altman made it clear that funding was a key factor in OpenAI’s journey. “It was very helpful to solve the funding problem early on,” he said, recognizing that without securing financial backing, the company might not have been able to scale as quickly or effectively. This insight highlights the importance of financial strategy and resourcefulness for any entrepreneur looking to build a successful tech company.
In addition to the practical realities of funding, Altman also reflected on the relationships that shaped OpenAI’s early days. Despite the public and often contentious nature of his relationship with Elon Musk today, Altman expressed gratitude for Musk’s support in the company’s formative years. Musk was one of the early investors who helped fund OpenAI, and Altman acknowledged that this support was instrumental in getting the company off the ground.
Altman’s remarks underscore the importance of having strong financial backing and strategic partnerships when launching a company in the tech space. Even though the world of AI is evolving rapidly, and the challenges are significant, Altman remains optimistic about the opportunities for those who are willing to take risks and bet on new technologies. For aspiring entrepreneurs, his message is clear: the rise of AI has created an unprecedented moment for innovation.
Altman’s advice to tech founders is simple yet powerful: now is the time to build. With AI advancing at an astonishing pace, the window of opportunity for starting and scaling a successful tech company is wide open. Altman’s words serve as a call to action for those ready to dive into the transformative world of AI and take part in the next big revolution in technology.
Since then, Musk has repeatedly criticized and sued OpenAI, accusing the company of deceiving him into becoming a cofounder. In response, OpenAI fired back last month, claiming Musk was harassing the company to gain a “competitive advantage” for his rival firm, xAI.
Musk has also called OpenAI “evil,” accusing it of pressuring investors not to back its AI competitors, including his own company, following its recent $6.6 billion funding round.
Meanwhile, Altman emphasized that now is the perfect time for founders to act because AI is advancing “a lot faster than people are appreciating right now.” He believes that the technology is widely underestimated, even by the founders of billion-dollar companies. “Bet on this tech trend,” Altman urged. “We are not near the saturation point.”
This comes as OpenAI takes steps to transition to a for-profit business model after operating as a nonprofit for nearly a decade. The company is also in the midst of preliminary discussions with California’s attorney general’s office regarding this shift.
Despite the rapid growth in AI, Altman cautioned that success is not guaranteed. While AI can lead to “short-term explosions of growth,” he emphasized that startups still need to build something of “enduring value” to sustain long-term success.
Altman envisions a future where a company makes billions of dollars with fewer than 100 employees.
“I don’t know what to make of that other than it’s a great time to be a startup founder,” he said. “It’s like one person plus 10,000 GPUs. Pretty powerful.”
Despite Altman’s belief that artificial general intelligence (AGI) is imminent, some researchers argue that it remains further off.
