Steve Jobs likened Fairchild Semiconductor to a mature dandelion, suggesting its seeds spread to create Silicon Valley. OpenAI is poised as the “Fairchild Semiconductor” of AI, engulfed in a potentially costly transformation as it aims for a trillion-dollar valuation, risking the loss of its founding team. Once an idealistic organization, OpenAI has morphed into a corporate entity. By December 2025, only CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman remained from its original 11 founders, leading to concerns over high-level departures and talent attrition. Meta, under Mark Zuckerberg’s leadership, aggressively recruits from OpenAI, forming its Super Intelligence Laboratory. High-profile departures, including core researchers like Shengjia Zhao and Jason Wei, have weakened OpenAI’s intellectual assets. This talent drain is indicative of a shift from exploration to product-centric focus within OpenAI, paralleling historical trends seen in Silicon Valley. Such changes raise questions about the future of both companies in the evolving AI landscape.
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