OpenAI plans to almost double its headcount this year, FT says

OpenAI plans to almost double its headcount by the end of 2026 as it seeks to fend off competition from companies such as Anthropic PBC and Alphabet Inc.’s Google, according to the Financial Times. 

The maker of AI assistant ChatGPT will look to increase headcount to about 8,000 from about 4,500, the FT said, citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter whom it didn’t identify. The new hires will largely work across product development, engineering, research and sales, according to the report. 

OpenAI has taken new office space in San Francisco to accommodate its growing staff count, taking its footprint in the city to more than 1 million square feet, the newspaper added. 

 OpenAI didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The hiring plans come amid a race with competitors including Anthropic and Microsoft Corp. to woo corporate customers using AI as coding assistants. 

Firms like OpenAI have unveiled a number of AI models that can take on increasingly complicated tasks — from analyzing company earnings reports to writing code and generating startlingly realistic-looking images and videos.

Last week, OpenAI revealed plans to acquire Astral, a startup that makes Python tools for developers. Earlier in March, it agreed to buy AI security startup Promptfoo, adding tools to test and secure AI agents before deployment, Last year, it bought startups including Software Applications Inc. and Neptune. 

The firm is also in advanced discussions to form a joint venture with private equity firms, including TPG Inc., Brookfield Asset Management and Bain Capital, that would focus on bolstering adoption of its AI software, Bloomberg reported.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com