OpenAI could release its next-generation model by year’s end

OpenAI plans to release its next-generation frontier model, code-named Orion and rumored to actually be GPT-5, by December, according to an exclusive report from The Verge. However, OpenAI boss Sam Altman is already pushing back.

According to “sources familiar with the plan,” Orion will not initially be released to the general public, as the previous GPT-4 variants were. Instead, the company intends to hand the new model over to select businesses and partners, who will then use it as a platform to build their own products and services. This is the same strategy that Nvidia is pursuing with its NVLM 1.0 family of large language models (LLMs).

What’s more, The Verge reports that Microsoft is planning to host the new model beginning in November. There is no confirmation yet that Orion will actually be called GPT-5 when it is released, though the model is reportedly considered by its engineers to be GPT-4’s successor.

Within hours of the report’s publication on Friday, Altman coyly denied the claims, stating “fake new is out of control.” However, he did not deny outright that Orion would be released in December, nor did he cite any specific aspects of The Verge’s story as being factually inaccurate.

He has not expounded on his position since publishing that tweet, leaving us confused both about his statement’s meaning and his company’s eventual plans for Orion.

fake news out of control

— Sam Altman (@sama) October 25, 2024

This report comes a…