Open AI

 OpenAI, the U.S. company behind the conversational AI system ChatGPT, plans to nearly double its workforce by the end of 2026, the Financial Times (FT) reported, citing two people familiar with the matter. The company is accelerating recruitment as competition in AI development intensifies with rivals such as Anthropic and Google under Alphabet.

According to the FT, OpenAI intends to expand its current staff of around 4,500 to approximately 8,000. New hires are expected to focus primarily on product development, engineering, research, and sales. As part of the expansion, the company is also securing additional office space in San Francisco, where its total footprint now exceeds 1 million square feet (about 92,900 square meters).

The aggressive hiring plan reflects the escalating battle for dominance in the enterprise AI market. Competitors including Anthropic and Microsoft are stepping up efforts to sell AI-powered coding assistance tools to corporate clients. OpenAI and other AI developers have been releasing increasingly sophisticated models capable of handling tasks ranging from financial report analysis and code generation to photorealistic image and video creation.

OpenAI has also been ramping up its acquisition strategy. Last week, it announced plans to acquire Astral, a startup specializing in Python tools for developers. Earlier in March, it agreed to acquire Promptfoo, an AI security startup that provides testing and safety validation tools for AI agents before deployment.

Last year, OpenAI also acquired several startups, including Software Applications and Neptune.

The company is additionally exploring partnerships with private equity firms. According to Bloomberg, OpenAI is in discussions with TPG, Brookfield Asset Management, and Bain Capital to establish joint ventures aimed at accelerating the adoption of OpenAI’s AI software.

OpenAI did not respond to requests for comment.