OpenAI’s new GPT‑5 model has been unveiled, and the company offers it free to all users. Three model versions, gpt‑5, gpt‑5‑mini and gpt‑5‑nano, offer developers a balance of performance, cost and latency.
CEO Sam Altman applauded India’s rapid AI adoption and hinted that India, currently OpenAI’s second‑largest market, may soon become the largest. A visit to India is planned for September.
The new GPT‑5 achieves a level of expertise akin to a PhD‑level professional and is described as a meaningful step towards AGI. OpenAI intends to make the model notably accessible through its free tier.
Head of ChatGPT Nick Turley noted that GPT‑5 significantly enhances understanding across more than twelve Indian languages, reinforcing India as a key market for localisation.
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OpenAI has launched GPT-5, replacing previous ChatGPT models and removing the model picker option. CEO Sam Altman called it a PhD-level AI, claiming improvements in reasoning, writing, coding, accuracy, and health-related queries, with fewer hallucinations. The rollout followed right after the announcement.
GPT-5 includes both an efficient and a reasoning model, but users no longer choose which to engage, OpenAI’s system automatically routes queries. The change has frustrated many, as favourite models like GPT-4o and o3 are no longer available.
Users on social media and forums complain that GPT-5 gives shorter, less engaging answers and has less personality. Some say the model ignores instructions, gets basic things wrong, and is slower despite not running in ‘thinking mode’.
Several users allege OpenAI shortened responses deliberately to reduce costs, removing emotional intelligence to discourage casual chatting. Critics believe the move could result in lost subscriptions despite efficiency gains.
Others describe GPT-5 as more organised but clipped in tone, with no clear quality improvement over earlier models. The loss of previous models has left some feeling that the upgrade is a downgrade, with one user saying it feels like ‘watching a close friend die’.
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OpenAI has unveiled GPT-5, the latest generation of its widely used ChatGPT tool, offering what CEO Sam Altman described as a ‘huge improvement’ in capability.
Now free to all users, the model builds on previous versions but stops short of the human-like reasoning associated with accurate artificial general intelligence.
Altman compared the leap in performance to ‘talking to a PhD-level expert’ instead of a student.
While GPT-5 does not learn continuously from new experiences, it is designed to excel in coding, writing, healthcare and other specialist areas.
Industry observers say the release underscores the rapid acceleration in AI, with rivals such as Google, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Elon Musk’s xAI investing heavily in the race. Chinese startup DeepSeek has also drawn attention for producing powerful models using less costly chips.
OpenAI has emphasised GPT-5’s safety features, with its research team training the system to avoid deception and prevent harmful outputs.
Alongside the flagship release, the company launched two open-weight models that can be freely downloaded and modified, a move seen as both a nod to its nonprofit origins and a challenge to competitors’ open-source offerings.
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Endex.ai has secured $14 million in funding to bring AI directly into Microsoft Excel. The funding round was led by the OpenAI Startup Fund, marking a significant moment for traditional tools in the business world.
Founded in 2022 by Tarun Amasa and Kevin Yang, the startup has spent the past year collaborating quietly with financial institutions to refine its product.
Now available to the public through limited invites, the tool embeds itself within Excel and helps users manage tasks like financial modelling, data cleanup, and detailed analysis (without switching applications).
Unlike broader AI tools, Endex has been designed specifically for finance professionals. It understands financial terminology, adapts to user habits, and references trusted data sources such as SEC filings, CapIQ, and earnings reports.
The company describes its product as Excel-native, aiming to enhance rather than replace a tool already deeply integrated into finance work.
With the new funding, Endex plans to expand development and scale its reach. The AI agent already works on both Mac and Windows, and its frictionless interface is proving attractive in a field where saving time and improving accuracy can make a substantial difference.
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AWS CEO Matt Garman celebrated the partnership as a ‘powerhouse combination’, noting that the models outperform comparable options, claiming they are three times more price-efficient than Gemini and five times more than DeepSeek‑R1, when deployed via Bedrock.
Rich functionality comes with these models: wide context capacity, chain-of-thought transparency, adjustable reasoning levels, and compatibility with agentic workflows. Bedrock offers secure deployment with Guardrails support, while SageMaker enables experimentation across AWS regions.
Financial markets took notice. AWS stock rose after the announcement, as analysts viewed the pairing with OpenAI’s open models as a meaningful step toward boosting its AI offerings amid fierce cloud rivalry.
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The US government has finalised a deal with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT Enterprise across all federal agencies. Each agency will access ChatGPT for $1 to support AI adoption and modernise operations.
According to the General Services Administration, the move aligns with the White House’s AI Action Plan, which aims to make the US a global leader in AI development. The plan promotes AI integration, innovation, and regulation across public institutions.
However, privacy advocates and cybersecurity experts have raised concerns over the risks of centralised AI in government. Critics cite the potential for mass surveillance, narrative control, and sensitive data exposure.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has cautioned users that AI conversations are not protected under privacy laws and could be used in legal proceedings. Storing data on centralised servers via large language models raises concerns over civil liberties and government overreach.
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GitHub has prematurely unveiled OpenAI’s next-generation GPT-5 models in a blog post that was swiftly deleted. The post briefly revealed that GPT-5 will be released in four variants, promising significant upgrades in reasoning ability, coding performance, and user experience.
Archived versions of the removed announcement show that GPT-5 features improved agentic capabilities and can complete complex coding tasks with minimal input.
The four model versions include a full-strength GPT-5 for logic and multi-step operations, a lightweight mini version for cost-efficient usage, a nano version optimised for speed and low latency, and a chat-focused variant built for advanced, multimodal enterprise interactions.
Reddit users first spotted the post, including comparisons between GPT-5 and competing models such as Llama 4 Scout and Cohere v2.
The accidental release aligns with growing anticipation after OpenAI insiders hinted at a major release earlier in the week, with CEO Sam Altman teasing the update just days before.
OpenAI is expected to launch GPT-5 later today, officially during a live-streamed event. The company has also introduced two new open-weight GPT-OSS models, including one that can run locally on personal devices.
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OpenAI has launched its first open-weight AI models in over five years, under the Apache 2.0 license. Developers now have access to download, adapt, and deploy the models commercially, marking a significant shift in policy from the company’s previously closed-source approach.
The move comes amid pressure from China’s open-source AI sector and Western rivals, such as Meta. The GPT-OS models focus on reasoning and support complex tasks such as coding and mathematics.
GPT-OS-120 b targets high-performance setups, while GPT-OS-20 b can run on standard machines. While not fully open-source, the release provides transparency regarding weights and architecture, although the training data remains undisclosed.
The approach has split expert opinion: some praise the openness, others question the limited disclosure. Regardless, it signals OpenAI’s strategic recalibration in response to market pressure.
Benchmark tests show the models excel in advanced reasoning. The o4-mini, a related model, has already surpassed its competitors in evaluations such as AIME 2024 and 2025. Analysts say these tools could reshape workflows across sectors, from coding to enterprise automation.
OpenAI’s timing aligns with rapid revenue growth and a $40 billion funding round. Analysts see this release as a calculated step in a maturing, competitive industry, where a balance of proprietary control and open access may define future leadership.
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OpenAI is in early discussions over a share sale that could value the company at around $500 billion, according to a source familiar with the talks.
The transaction would occur before a possible IPO and let current and former employees sell several billion dollars’ worth of shares.
The valuation marks a steep rise from the $300 billion figure attached to its most recent funding round earlier in the year. Backed by Microsoft, OpenAI has seen rapid growth in users and revenue, with ChatGPT attracting about 700 million weekly active users, up from 400 million in February.
Revenue doubled in the first seven months of the year, reaching an annualised run rate of $12 billion, and is on track for $20 billion by year-end.
The potential sale comes as competition for AI talent intensifies.
Meta has invested billions in Scale AI to lure its chief executive, Alexandr Wang, to head its superintelligence unit. At the same time, firms such as ByteDance and Databricks have used private share sales to update valuations and reward staff.
Thrive Capital and other existing OpenAI investors are discussing joining the deal.
OpenAI is also preparing a major corporate restructuring that could replace its capped-profit model and clear the way for an eventual public listing.
However, Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar said any IPO would only happen when the company and the markets are ready.
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In search of emotional support during a mental health crisis, it has been reported that people use ChatGPT as their ‘therapist.’ While this may seem like an easy getaway, reports have shown that ChatGPT’s responses have had an amplifying effect on people’s delusions rather than helping them find coping mechanisms. As a result, OpenAI stated that it plans to improve the chatbot’s ability to detect mental distress in the new GPT-5 AI model, which is expected to launch later this week.
OpenAI admits that GPT-4 sometimes failed to recognise signs of delusion or emotional dependency, especially in vulnerable users. To encourage healthier use of ChatGPT, which now serves nearly 700 million weekly users, OpenAI is introducing break reminders during long sessions, prompting users to pause or continue chatting.
Additionally, it plans to refine how and when ChatGPT displays break reminders, following a trend seen on platforms like YouTube and TikTok.
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