OpenAI has released its first open artificial intelligence model since it launched ChatGPT, as the $300bn group attempts to quash rising competition from Chinese start-up DeepSeek and others in the cutting-edge technology.
The San Francisco-based company unveiled two “open-weight” models on Tuesday that will be free to access and for developers to customise, providing a more transparent alternative to its existing closed AI offerings.
Their launch comes six months after advances by China’s DeepSeek caused shockwaves following the release of its open model R1 in January, which was comparable to some of OpenAI’s products, undermining Silicon Valley’s lead in a global AI arms race.