Apr 27, 2026milestonesource ↗
Faced Elon in court as the OpenAI trial began
Jury selection began in Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI and its executives, including me — a case that goes back to our founding agreement and how OpenAI evolved.
2026
Apr 10, 2026writing · milestonesource ↗
Shared our family photo after an attack on our home
Someone threw a Molotov cocktail at our house at 3:45 in the morning; it bounced off and no one was hurt. Normally we keep our family private, but I shared a photo of the people I love more than anything — and wrote about what I believe, my mistakes across a decade of OpenAI, and why no one should hold the ring of AGI.
Blog post →2025
Sep 30, 2025milestonesource ↗
Shipped Sora 2 and the Sora app
Sora 2 went out to the world — video generation people actually use, with all the fascinating product questions that came with it.
Blog post →Aug 7, 2025milestonesource ↗
Launched GPT-5
We launched GPT-5, the next flagship in the series after GPT-4.
Jun 10, 2025writingsource ↗
Published 'The Gentle Singularity'
We are past the event horizon; the takeoff has started. An essay arguing the singularity may arrive gently — wonders becoming routine, and then table stakes.
Essay →Apr 11, 2025talksource ↗
Went live at TED2025 with Chris Anderson
A probing conversation at TED2025 about ChatGPT's astonishing growth, AI agents and superintelligence — and some uncomfortable questions about power.
Feb 23, 2025side questsource ↗
Became a dad
Welcome to the world, little guy! He came early and spent a while in the NICU, doing well. I have never felt such love.
Jan 21, 2025milestonesource ↗
Stood at the White House for the $500B Stargate announcement
The Stargate Project was announced — a joint venture between OpenAI, Oracle, SoftBank and MGX to build AI infrastructure with the US government, estimated at $500 billion.
Jan 6, 2025writingsource ↗
Published 'Reflections' as ChatGPT turned two
Looking back on OpenAI's journey as ChatGPT passed its second birthday — including my own firing and return — and ahead to superintelligence.
Essay →2024
Sep 23, 2024writingsource ↗
Published 'The Intelligence Age'
In a few decades we'll be able to do things that would have seemed like magic to our grandparents — deep learning worked, and the Intelligence Age has begun.
Essay →May 2024milestonesource ↗
Signed the Giving Pledge
Oliver and I committed to giving away most of our wealth by signing the Giving Pledge.
Jan 2024side questsource ↗
Married Oliver Mulherin in Hawaii
Oliver and I married in January 2024 at our estate in Hawaii. We live in San Francisco's Russian Hill and spend weekends in Napa.
2023
Nov 17, 2023milestonesource ↗
Fired by OpenAI's board — and back five days later
OpenAI's board removed me as CEO for not being "consistently candid". The backlash from employees and investors brought me back within five days, with a new board formed. In the middle of it, all I could say was: i love the openai team so much.
May 16, 2023talksource ↗
Testified before the US Senate on AI oversight
I testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law about how AI should be overseen.
May 2023talksource ↗
Toured 22 countries talking AI with world leaders
After ChatGPT took off I made a world tour across 22 countries, meeting leaders including Sunak, Macron, Scholz, Modi, Yoon, Herzog and von der Leyen.
Mar 25, 2023talksource ↗
Sat down with Lex Fridman on GPT-4 and the future of AI
A long conversation on the Lex Fridman Podcast (#367) — GPT-4, AI safety, AGI, power, Elon, and the meaning of life.
Mar 14, 2023milestonesource ↗
Released GPT-4
We released GPT-4 — as an API and as a feature of ChatGPT Plus.
2022
Nov 2022milestonesource ↗
Launched ChatGPT
We launched ChatGPT in November 2022. The free preview crossed a million signups in its first five days — and set off the AI boom.
2021
Mar 16, 2021writingsource ↗
Wrote 'Moore's Law for Everything'
An essay on how AI will create phenomenal wealth while the price of labor falls toward zero — and the policy we'd need to distribute that wealth fairly.
Essay →2019
Mar 2019worksource ↗
Left Y Combinator to run OpenAI full-time
In March 2019 I left YC and began focusing full-time as CEO of OpenAI.
Jan 24, 2019writingsource ↗
Published 'How to Be Successful'
Thirteen thoughts on how to achieve outlier success — compounding yourself, having almost too much self-belief, and making it easy to take risks.
Essay →Jan 2019worksource ↗
Co-founded Tools for Humanity
With Alex Blania and others I co-founded Tools for Humanity, the company behind Worldcoin — eye-scanning proof-of-personhood for the AI era.
2016
Jan 2016side questsource ↗
Copped to being a prepper
"I have guns, gold, potassium iodide, antibiotics, batteries, water, gas masks from the Israeli Defense Force, and a big patch of land in Big Sur I can fly to" — as I put it in 2016.
2015
Dec 2015milestonesource ↗
Co-founded OpenAI
With Greg Brockman, Elon Musk, Jessica Livingston, Peter Thiel and others, we founded OpenAI as a nonprofit with $1 billion in pledges — framed in early conversations as a counterweight to Google's AI development.
2014
Nov 2014side questsource ↗
Ran Reddit as CEO — for eight days
For eight days in 2014 I was CEO of Reddit after Yishan Wong resigned. One of the stranger lines on my résumé; I stayed on the board until 2022.
Jan 2014worksource ↗
Became president of Y Combinator
Paul Graham handed me the reins of Y Combinator; I served as president from 2014 to 2019, later expanding the role to president of YC Group.
2012
Mar 2012milestonesource ↗
Sold Loopt to Green Dot for $43M
Loopt never found the user traction we wanted, and in March 2012 it was acquired by Green Dot Corporation for $43 million.
2011
Jan 2011worksource ↗
Joined Y Combinator as a partner
I became a partner at Y Combinator, initially part-time, working with early-stage startups.
2005
Jan 2005worksource ↗
Dropped out of Stanford to co-found Loopt at 19
After two years of computer science at Stanford I dropped out and co-founded Loopt, a location-based social app — raising more than $30M in venture capital as CEO.