OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is now delivering a consistent message to both employees and investors that the company is regaining momentum. As reported by CNBC, in an internal Slack message, Altman said ChatGPT is back to exceeding 10% monthly growth, with more than 800 million weekly users. Altman also revealed that OpenAI will launch an updated Chat model this week, part of a renewed focus after declaring a ‘code-red’ on December last year in order to improve the chatbot.Altman also pointed to Codex, the coding product of the company has other bright spot. He mentioned that usage of Codex grew 50% in just one week, calling the growth ‘insane’. Codex is a direct competitor of Anthropic’s Claude Code, which gained traction in recent months. OpenAI recently launched GPT-5.3 Codex and a stand-alone app for Apple computers, fueling adoption.

Advertising sparks tension

The week also witnessed a controversy. OpenAI rival Anthropic aired Super Bowl ads in which the company mocked OpenAI’s decision to test ads inside ChatGPT. Altman fired back on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) calling the commercials ‘deceptive’ and insisting OpenAI would never run ads in the way Anthropic has depicted. Altman also mentioned that still Open will start testing ads in ChatGPT. For the uninitiated, OpenAI has now started rolling out ads in ChatGPT. “We’re starting to roll out a test for ads in ChatGPT today to a subset of free and Go users in the U.S,” OpenAI said in an X post adding “Ads do not influence ChatGPT’s answers. Ads are labeled as sponsored and visually separate from the response. Our goal is to give everyone access to ChatGPT for free with fewer limits, while protecting the trust they place in it for important and personal tasks.”OpenAI said ads are meant to help fund the infrastructure needed to keep the Free and Go tiers running and to support broader access to AI tools. The company said it will study feedback closely before expanding the program.

Investor pitch mirrors employee message

Sam Altman and OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar are telling investors the same growth story they share internally. OpenAI is in talks to raise up to $100 billion, with contributions expected from Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, and SoftBank. Charts circulated in investor meetings show Codex eating into Claude Code’s market share, underscoring OpenAI’s competitive edge.OpenAI previously closed a $41 billion round in March, including $30 billion from SoftBank. The new fundraising could close in two parts, with Amazon reportedly considering a $50 billion investment.