OpenAI

Founded in 2015 by Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and others as a nonprofit AI research organization, OpenAI later transitioned to a for-profit structure and secured major investment from Microsoft. The 2022 launch of ChatGPT transformed AI into a tool accessible to everyday users.

Today, OpenAI maintains the strongest influence in the AI industry across a wide range — from chatbots and developer APIs to multimodal models and video generation. The question "How does it compare to ChatGPT?" has become the global standard for AI comparisons. Its valuation of approximately $300 billion as of March 2026 ranks among the highest of any AI-focused company.