According to Beating Monitoring, The Wall Street Journal exclusively reported that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman discussed last year the possibility of splitting the company’s robotics division and consumer hardware division to seek separate funding and operate independently, in order to avoid dragging down the core business. However, this plan was ultimately rejected, partly because OpenAI determined that the spun-off new entity would still need to be consolidated into the parent company’s financial statements, failing to achieve a true separation.
This concept reflects the strategic trade-offs during OpenAI’s push toward an IPO. Over the years, Altman has approved numerous projects beyond the scope of chatbots, but the company is currently facing greater pressure to focus: its core business lags behind Anthropic, some internal users and revenue targets have not met expectations, and the video generation tool Sora has been cut to free up computing power. Currently, OpenAI is transforming around a new “super app,” mainly targeting developers and enterprise users.
Sources say OpenAI may restart the split plan in the future, referencing Google’s 2015 establishment of Alphabet as a holding company, separating core search operations from long-term investments like Waymo. The two departments pending separation are now operating independently within the company and report directly to Altman. Last May, the hardware division acquired io, founded by former Apple designer Jony Ive, with $6.5 billion in stock, along with approximately 55 employees; the new devices under development are not expected to ship before February 2027.
Disclaimer: The information on this page may come from third parties and does not represent the views or opinions of Gate. The content displayed on this page is for reference only and does not constitute any financial, investment, or legal advice. Gate does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information and shall not be liable for any losses arising from the use of this information. Virtual asset investments carry high risks and are subject to significant price volatility. You may lose all of your invested principal. Please fully understand the relevant risks and make prudent decisions based on your own financial situation and risk tolerance. For details, please refer to
Disclaimer.
Related Articles
IREN Acquires Mirantis for $625M in All-Stock Deal to Expand AI Cloud Platform
According to BlockBeats, IREN Limited agreed to acquire cloud infrastructure software company Mirantis for approximately $625 million in an all-stock transaction on May 5. The acquisition aims to enhance IREN's AI cloud capabilities by introducing software and orchestration capabilities to
GateNews2h ago
Anthropic CEO: U.S. Considering Simplified AI Model Release Process, Competitors 1-3 Months Behind
According to 金十, Anthropic's CEO revealed on May 5 that the U.S. government appears to be considering streamlining the process for releasing artificial intelligence models. The CEO noted that other major AI labs' capabilities may lag behind Anthropic by one to three
GateNews2h ago
SGLang Team Completes $100M Seed Funding Round at $400M Valuation, Accel Leads
According to Beating, the team behind open-source inference engine SGLang has formally established RadixArk and completed a $100 million seed funding round at a $400 million post-money valuation. Accel led the round, with Spark Capital as co-lead investor. Semiconductor rivals Nvidia (via
GateNews3h ago
OpenAI Grants 8,000 Developers 10x Codex Rate Limit Increase Through June 5
According to Beating, OpenAI sent emails to over 8,000 developers who signed up for the GPT-5.5 offline event in San Francisco, granting them a 10x increase in Codex rate limits effective immediately through June 5. All applicants receive the reward regardless of whether they received an event
GateNews3h ago
OpenAI's Joint Venture With Anthropic in Talks to Acquire Three AI Service Companies on May 5
According to Jin 10, OpenAI's joint venture with Anthropic is in talks to acquire three AI service companies on May 5. The targeted companies reportedly include engineering-focused firms in the AI services
GateNews3h ago
Anthropic Launches Ten AI Agents for Financial Services on Tuesday
Anthropic launched ten new AI agents on Tuesday designed to handle financial services tasks including drafting client meeting presentations, reviewing financial statements, and escalating cases for compliance review. The tools target professionals in banking, insurance, asset management, and fintech
GateNews3h ago
