OpenAI has been consistently in the news lately, whether for its acquisitions, competition with Anthropic, or broader discussions about AI's societal impact. On a recent episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts delved into the latest OpenAI developments. While the company's recent acquisitions appear to be classic acqui-hires, Sean O’Kane suggested they also address "two big existential problems that OpenAI is trying to solve right now."
Firstly, by acquiring the team behind personal finance startup Hiro, OpenAI might be hoping to develop a product with "more hooks than just a chatbot, and maybe something worth paying more for." Secondly, with the new media startup TBPN, OpenAI could be looking to "better shape its image in the public eye, which lately has not been great."
Podcast host Anthony noted these two significant deals: OpenAI's acquisition of the personal finance startup Hiro, followed by the acquisition of TBPN—a business talk show and new media company. He remarked that compared to OpenAI's overall scale, these deals are relatively small and are unlikely to fundamentally alter their business trajectory. However, they are interesting as they suggest an ongoing attitude of "let's try out different things," particularly at a time when OpenAI is reportedly refocusing on making ChatGPT and its GPT models highly competitive in an enterprise context for programmers.
Kirsten Korosec highlighted the Hiro acquisition as particularly intriguing. She referenced Venture Editor Julie Bort's reporting, which indicated it appears to be an acqui-hire. Hiro, a personal finance startup launched just two years ago, is reportedly folding. Thus, the primary objective is clearly talent acquisition. However, it remains unclear whether OpenAI intends to simply absorb the team into its broader operations or if it genuinely has an interest in developing a specific personal finance product.
Sean O’Kane posited that both acquisitions, to a certain extent, are acqui-hires. In the case of TBPN, it's alleged that the company will retain its editorial independence for its show. These strategic moves collectively illustrate OpenAI's evolving approach to product diversification and public perception management amidst its rapid growth.