OpenAI Delays Release of Highly Anticipated Open Model, Citing ‘Unexpected’ Breakthrough
The launch of OpenAI’s first open-source model in several years has been postponed until later this summer, according to CEO Sam Altman. In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), Altman announced that the release would occur sometime after June.
“[W]e are going to take a little more time with our open-weights model, i.e. expect it later this summer but not [J]une,” Altman stated. He further elaborated, “[O]ur research team did something unexpected and quite amazing and we think it will be very very worth the wait, but needs a bit longer.” This suggests that the delay is due to a significant advancement made by OpenAI’s research team.
OpenAI had initially aimed for an early summer release for this open model. The model is expected to possess “reasoning” capabilities on par with OpenAI’s proprietary o-series models. The company intends for its open model to outperform existing open reasoning models, such as DeepSeek’s R1.
Since OpenAI first announced its plans for an open model, the competitive landscape has intensified. Mistral, another AI lab known for its open releases, recently unveiled its first family of AI reasoning models, named Magistral. Similarly, in April, the Chinese AI lab Qwen introduced a family of hybrid AI reasoning models, offering both rapid responses and more deliberate, reasoning-based outputs.
To enhance its competitive edge, OpenAI has explored integrating advanced features into its open AI model. These include enabling the model to connect to cloud-hosted AI models for complex tasks. It remains uncertain whether these features will be included in the final release.
The release of this open model is crucial for OpenAI’s relationship with the research and developer community. CEO Sam Altman has acknowledged that OpenAI was previously on the “wrong side of history” regarding open-source models. To address this, the company faces considerable pressure to deliver an open model that can rival the best open offerings in the industry.
