# OpenAI shifted focus from side projects to model capability

Markdown copy of https://realalpha.app/s/openai-shifted-focus-from-side-projects-to-model-capability/ on Real Alpha, the best minutes from long interviews with the people building AI. Cite and link the page, not this copy.

- Speaker: [Sam Altman](https://realalpha.app/builders/sam-altman/) · Sam Altman is CEO of OpenAI.
- Host: [Alex Heath](https://realalpha.app/people/alex-heath/) · Founder & host, Sources · Left The Verge to start Sources in 2025; it has made over $1M since, mostly from sponsors.
- Show: Sources
- Episode: [Sam Altman on Astra, AGI, and the future of OpenAI](https://realalpha.app/v/VeizK1M7V7E/), Sep 1, 2026
- Moment: 41:21 to 43:39 of the episode (2 min), playing on https://realalpha.app/s/openai-shifted-focus-from-side-projects-to-model-capability/; the episode from there: https://realalpha.app/v/VeizK1M7V7E/?t=2481

## Quote

> “They were just not as good as the **most important thing to do**, which was sort of push on the general capability of the intelligence.”
> — [Sam Altman](https://realalpha.app/builders/sam-altman/) at [42:47](https://realalpha.app/v/VeizK1M7V7E/?t=2567) · Sources

## Takeaways

1. Product work was useful but distracted from general capability.
2. Browser and Sora were examples of lower-priority bets.
3. Altman says OpenAI now has a relentless focus on its intelligence service.

## About this segment

Sam Altman says OpenAI spread effort across products like its browser and Sora while pretraining fell behind. He says the company refocused on improving general capability.

From “Sam Altman on Astra, AGI, and the future of OpenAI”, Sep 1, 2026. [Watch the full episode](https://realalpha.app/v/VeizK1M7V7E/)

## Transcript

Transcribed by machine (Whisper) from the episode’s audio, so a word may be off here and there.

[41:27](https://realalpha.app/v/VeizK1M7V7E/?t=2487) That's J-I-R-A dot com. You said, we did not have our best last 12 months ever, which is mostly my fault, but we are about to have our best 12 months. What did you mean by that? Best 12 months yet. Yet. I think we clearly had some missteps as a company, which will happen periodically. I mean, part of trying to make a portfolio of bets is that sometimes more of them work and sometimes less of them work.

[41:51](https://realalpha.app/v/VeizK1M7V7E/?t=2511) But I think both in terms of product direction and specifically on pre-training in research, we fell behind where we wanted to be. I think we are now executing not only the best we have ever executed, but the best of kind of any company in the space. And it is very fun to like, you know, the upswing is more fun after the downswing. So just looking at the pace of models that we really have come in, the way the company has come together and focused and made a bunch of hard decisions in very different parts of the company, but done sort of in unison in one direction, it feels great right now.

[42:27](https://realalpha.app/v/VeizK1M7V7E/?t=2547) And I want to get to all that, but to dwell on this for a second, because the last year a lot has happened. Were there specific decisions you can look back on that you made that cost the company momentum? I mean, you mentioned pre-training. I know you've always been very close to the research team. But can you elaborate on that? I think we were trying to do too much on the product side. And so there was like, you know, and these were all things that were actually very good things to do.

[42:53](https://realalpha.app/v/VeizK1M7V7E/?t=2573) They were just not as good as the most important thing to do, which was sort of push on the general capability of the intelligence. So we were doing things like a browser and Sora. And we now have a very relentless focus on being this intelligence service to people. And I think our models are they have gotten to be the best in the world and they will get much, much better over the coming months. And people are really doing remarkable things.

[43:17](https://realalpha.app/v/VeizK1M7V7E/?t=2597) But that is what we should have been focused on. and I should have been holding everybody to, this is the one thing. We'll not worry about these sort of side quests more. Looking at the leadership changes you had, about a year ago, you brought in Fidji Simo to help run large parts of the company. She had to step back due to her health. And now you and Greg Brockman, your co-founder,