Year In AI: ChatGPT Valued At $86 Billion As Google Rides On (2024)

Happy Birthday, ChatGPT!

It’s been quite a year since the clever chatbot went viral, stealing hearts on South Park and setting off an investment boom not seen since the birth of the iPhone.

Now enabled with voice, users can talk with it and even ask it to create customized GPTs that can be sold on the GPT store—that is, once the store actually launches.

Announced at OpenAI’s DevDay on November 6 to much fanfare and an appearance by Grimes, the store was expected to go live in November but fell off the radar when OpenAI’s nonprofit board fired its chief executive officer, Sam Altman, then blew through two interim CEOs before more than 700 of its 770 employees threatened to quit and join Microsoft with Altman. Within days, the women on the board were replaced with former Twitter chair Bret Taylor and former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and soon Altman was CEO again, partying with his team. Microsoft then took a seat as a non-voting board observer, partially filling the gap Microsoft board member Reid Hoffman left when he departed OpenAI in March. And now Thrive Capital’s $86 billion tender offer for employee shares appears to be back on track.

OpenAI confirmed the delay of the store launch in a letter to GPT Builders that read, “In terms of what’s next, we are now planning to launch the GPT Store early next year. While we had expected to release it this month, a few unexpected things have been keeping us busy!”

Despite the Succession-level drama which had Silicon Valley glued to X (formerly Twitter) for days, ChatGPT remains at the forefront of the AI craze with 100 million weekly users and 2 million developers using its tools, including 92% of the Fortune 500, according to company. It also has a robust partner program that includes integrations with brands like Snapchat and Expedia.

Read More: Waymo Has $5 Billion, Google AI And Super Fans: Can Amazon, Tesla And Uber Compete

The Road Ahead

Although it’s been an exciting year for generative AI, autonomous vehicles nearly came to a screeching halt when Cruise lost its license to operate robotaxis in San Francisco, amid several headline-grabbing mishaps.

The same weekend OpenAI descended into chaos, Cruise’s visionary founders and Y Combinator alums, Kyle Vogt and Dan Kan, handed over the reins of their high-flying startup to parent company General Motors after its entire U.S. fleet was put under review, including the Phoenix, Austin, Dallas, Houston and Miami markets. A devastating blow, given Vogt’s grand ambitions for the company, which he had just presented at the Dreamforce and Disrupt conferences in San Francisco weeks prior.

But fortunately, the dream of autonomous driving is alive and well with Google’s Waymo, which is still operating in San Francisco and Phoenix, and coming soon to Los Angeles and Austin as a paid ride-hailing service. Uber is even partnering with Waymo to offer rides and deliveries on its platform in Phoenix.

I rode my first Waymo in San Francisco this week and was impressed by the entire experience—from the smooth ride of its all-electric Jaguar I-PACE car to its cleanliness, spaciousness and lounge-lit interior.

Although the car didn’t offer door-to-door service for my route, it seemed to provide safe boarding options, selecting nearby sites at the curb and away from traffic, which the app guided me to. In the dark, I could see its light-projected “Waymo” welcome mat, and as I opened the door, the car greeted me by name and I instantly felt at home. While it waited for me to buckle up, it gave a quick orientation. I then pushed “start ride” and it was on its way, carefully maneuvering through traffic.

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I rode in silence for awhile, filming it, amazed at how diligently it was driving. Then I found a great mix on the rear display and kicked back to enjoy the ride, appreciating how safe it felt not having to deal with a human driver. The cost was about $20, comparable with an Uber, before tip. The only thing missing was a fun name to call my car like Cruise had with “Popsicle” and “Goldie” to make it easier to find in a crowd as well as inspire fandom to catch ‘em all.

I started to think of all of the potential applications of the technology—such as ordering a Waymo to charge an electric car or provide backup power for a house during an outage. It certainly feels like we’re at the start of something big.

Along with Joby and Volocopter’s flying taxis taking off, it’s been a banner year for AI and likely to get only more exciting from here.

Updated: Added OpenAI’s confirmation of the GPT Store launch delay in paragraph 5