OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company backed by tech giant Microsoft (MSFT), is working on building its own social media platform, according to The Verge. The idea is still in early development, but insiders say there’s already a test version with a social feed focused on sharing images generated by ChatGPT. It’s not yet clear if this platform will be launched as a brand-new app or built into the existing ChatGPT app, which OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently said now reaches about 10% of the world’s population.
This move shows how OpenAI is looking to compete more directly with social networks like X (formerly Twitter), especially as AI-generated content becomes more popular. It could also give OpenAI another way to collect valuable data and train its AI models using real-time user interaction. However, the timing is interesting since it comes during a public feud between Altman and Elon Musk, who co-founded OpenAI but has since sued the company for straying from its original mission. Musk also made a $97.4 billion cash offer to acquire OpenAI earlier this year, which Altman turned down.
In response, Altman jokingly said that OpenAI would buy Twitter for $9.74 billion. Meanwhile, Musk’s own AI company, xAI, completed an all-stock acquisition of X and launched its chatbot, Grok, as a standalone app. Grok is deeply connected with X and uses posts on the platform to train its AI models. With OpenAI now stepping into the social media space and xAI already integrating its chatbot into a major platform, it is clear that the competition between the two is heating up.
Is MSFT Stock a Buy?
Although you cannot directly invest in OpenAI, you can buy shares of Microsoft, which has a 49% stake in OpenAI. And according to analysts, Microsoft stock has a Strong Buy consensus rating among 35 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 32 Buys and three Holds assigned in the last three months. Furthermore, the average MSFT price target of $502.37 implies 30.2% upside potential.
