The company pressed forward and launched ChatGPT on November 30. It was such a low-key event that many employees who weren’t directly involved, including those in safety functions, didn’t even realize it had happened. Some of those who were aware, according to one employee, had started a betting pool, wagering how many people might use the tool during its first week. The highest guess was 100,000 users. OpenAI’s president tweeted that the tool hit 1 million within the first five days. The phrase low-key research preview became an instant meme within OpenAI; employees turned it into laptop stickers.
Recent articles
- The evolution of OpenAI's mission statement - 13th February 2026
- Introducing Showboat and Rodney, so agents can demo what they’ve built - 10th February 2026
- How StrongDM's AI team build serious software without even looking at the code - 7th February 2026