OpenAI was announced on Thursday that it has acquired an online business talk show TBPN for an undisclosed sum. The move comes as OpenAI grapples with its public image, which has taken a hit in recent months.
From launch in 2024 TBPN has grown in popularity among Silicon Valley circles by offering daily live coverage of the tech industry, which is seen as more tech-friendly than time-honored outlets. The show’s two hosts, John Coogan and Jordi Hays, provide real-time commentary on breaking news, review viral social media posts, and interview executives from companies including Meta, Salesforce, Palantir, and OpenAI. It has become particularly popular among OpenAI employees and other artificial intelligence researchers, many of whom are addicted to the X social media platform.
It’s strenuous to see how the media startup fits into OpenAI’s core business, which sells ChatGPT, Codex and the recent super app the company is developing for consumers and enterprises. In March, OpenAI’s general manager of applications, Fidji Simo, told employees during a well-attended meeting that the company needed to cancel its side projects and refocus on its core business.
In a memo to employees announcing the acquisition, Simo said the typical communications playbook did not apply to OpenAI. “We are not a typical company,” she said in the note, which was also published on the blog. “We are introducing a really big technological change. With the mission of bringing AGI to the world comes the responsibility to create a space for a real, constructive conversation about the changes introduced by artificial intelligence – with designers and people using the technology at the center.”
TBPN is a petite company compared to OpenAI. According to the media company, it generated $5 million in advertising revenue last year and is on track to reach more than $30 million in revenue in 2026. Wall Street Journal. The show is reported to reach around 70,000 viewers per episode across various platforms. A source close to OpenAI says the company does not expect this TBPN contribute financially to the business, although this will facilitate OpenAI’s communications strategy.
In recent months, OpenAI has come under increased public scrutiny. After the company signed a contract with the Department of Defense in February, Anthropic’s Claude The number of downloads increased and it took first place among free Apple applications. OpenAI leaders are also struggling with a growing problem Exit GPT trafficwhich is made up of people who swear they will never employ OpenAI products. OpenAI CEO Greg Brockman cited problems with the popularity of artificial intelligence as the main reason for increased political spending.
With this acquisition, OpenAI will become the latest Silicon Valley player to try to start and run a news company. There have been several notable examples of technology leaders buying media companies in recent decades, including Jeff Bezos buying The Washington Post, Marc Benioff buying Time magazine and Robinhood buying newsletter publisher MarketSnacks. In each case, the takeovers raised immediate questions about whether the facilities would remain truly independent. In her memo, Simo told employees this TBPN will maintain editorial independence.
“TBPN it’s my favorite tech show. We want them to keep it up and do what they do so well,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a post on X. “I don’t expect them to get any easier on us, [and I] I’m sure I’ll do my best to make this possible, sometimes making stupid decisions.
– said OpenAI TBPN Simo’s memo states that they will continue to “direct programming, select guests and make their own editorial decisions.” The company also said TBPN will report directly to OpenAI’s vice president of global affairs, Chris Lehane. WIRED previously reported how an economics research team led by Lehane struggled to produce a report on the negative impact of artificial intelligence on the economy.