OpenAI CEO Sam Altman attends an event to pitch AI for businesses in Tokyo, Feb. 3, 2025.<\/p>\n
Kim Kyung-hoon | Reuters<\/p>\n
Artificial intelligence start-up OpenAI plans to nearly double its workforce to 8,000 from 4,500 by the end of 2026, the Financial Times reported<\/a> on Saturday, citing two people with knowledge of the matter.<\/p>\n Reuters could not immediately verify the report. OpenAI did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.<\/p>\n OpenAI plans to deploy most of the new hires across product development, engineering, research and sales, the FT said.<\/p>\n The ChatGPT-maker is also ramping up recruitment of specialists focused on “technical ambassadorship,” aimed at helping businesses make better use of its tools, the report added.<\/p>\n The company’s latest funding round valued it at $840 billion as Big Tech and Masayoshi Son’s Softbank joined<\/a> its blockbuster $110 billion round.<\/p>\n OpenAI CEO Sam Altman<\/a> reportedly issued an internal “code red”<\/a> in early December last year, pausing non-core projects and redirecting teams to accelerate development in response to Google’s<\/a> Gemini\u202f3.<\/p>\n