OpenAI is set to unveil its new flagship AI model, tentatively named Orion, by the end of December, potentially making it 100 times more powerful than ChatGPT-4, according to reports from The Verge. As ChatGPT approaches its two-year anniversary next month—a development that sparked a wave of interest in artificial intelligence—insiders reveal that unlike previous models GPT-4o and o1, Orion will not be launched broadly through ChatGPT. Instead, it will be made available first to select companies that have collaborated closely with OpenAI, allowing them to enhance their own products and functionalities.
An OpenAI executive hinted that Orion will operate independently from the recently released reasoning model, o1, and could achieve performance levels unprecedented for its predecessor. Additionally, reports suggest that Microsoft is preparing to integrate Orion into its Azure cloud platform as early as November.
While OpenAI considers Orion to be a successor to GPT-4, there remains uncertainty about whether it will be officially named GPT-5, and plans for its release may change. OpenAI’s long-term goal is to unify its various large language models (LLMs) to create a more powerful system, ultimately aiming for what is known as artificial general intelligence (AGI).
There have been indications that the o1 model, codenamed Strawberry, was used to generate synthetic data for training Orion. Moreover, sources indicate that OpenAI researchers celebrated the completion of this new model’s training during an event dubbed “Happy Hour” in September.
Coincidentally, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently posted an intriguing message on social media platform X, expressing excitement about the upcoming rise of the winter constellations. When asked about the double meaning behind Altman’s post, the ChatGPT o1 preview referred to the Orion constellation, which is predominant in the winter sky.
In addition, OpenAI has just completed the largest funding round in Silicon Valley history, securing $6.6 billion, with the stipulation that it must reorganize as a for-profit entity. The company has also undergone significant personnel changes, including departures of key executives such as CTO Mira Murati, Research Chief Ilya Sutskever, and VP of Research, Soumya Ghosh.
