Some venture capitalists predict the events at OpenAI will impact term-sheet negotiations, with founders likely to resist board control over CEO replacement and similar terms. There are also concerns that access to the world's most successful LLMs will shift away from average startups towards those that pass a new "screening" process. On the other hand, some see the public nature of the drama as a unique and exciting aspect of the situation.
Key takeaways:
- The drama at OpenAI could have positive effects on Europe’s nascent AI sector, potentially allowing startups like Mistral to poach good employees and catch up with OpenAI.
- Many European applied AI startups are very reliant on OpenAI, and the current turmoil could push the business more into the hands of Microsoft, which could have major implications for companies reliant on OpenAI’s platform.
- There are concerns that access to the world’s most successful LLMs will move away from the average startup and toward startups and researchers, mostly local to the U.S., which pass some new yet-to-be-defined “screening” process.
- The upside of the chaos at OpenAI is that it is playing out in public on social media, providing a unique and exciting spectacle for observers.