"The progress of Chinese technology companies across the entire Tech Stack
is not only in AI but extends to many other industries, which is truly remarkable."
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, shared his views in an interview with CNBC at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, a large-scale global AI event promoted by India that brought together leaders from top technology firms.
These remarks came amid the intense AI competition between the two giants, the United States and China, striving to develop Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) — AI with human-level capabilities — and to widely deploy this technology.
Sam Altman also noted that China’s technological advances across multiple fields, including AI, have been astonishingly rapid; in some areas, Chinese tech firms are nearly at the global forefront, while in others, they still lag behind the U.S.
During the interview, Sam Altman mentioned one of China's key strategies: rapidly developing domestic chip manufacturers to expand production capacity and reduce reliance on foreign products, with the long-term goal of creating competitors capable of challenging giants like Nvidia.
"I'm not sure if it's underestimated, but the progress of Chinese tech companies across the entire system and in many industries is truly remarkable. People often say, 'China is winning, what should we do?' This means most people are aware that something significant is happening,"Sam Altman said.
Chinese AI companies have recently attracted strong investor interest, with many stock prices surging, reflecting confidence that China may emerge as a major player in the global AI arena.
In part of the interview, when asked about OpenAI’s clear revenue model amid the AI war involving several large competitors generating huge sums, Sam Altman explained,
Dealroom data shows investors have injected around 70 billion U.S. dollars into OpenAI, and the company is currently closing a new funding round expected to be worth up to 100 billion U.S. dollars.
One revenue strategy OpenAI is considering is "advertising in ChatGPT," though this plan is still in its early stages and the company is exploring which advertising formats would be most suitable.
Sam Altman explained that his favorite ads over recent years have been Instagram-style ads where users"discover new things they might like but didn’t know about before."He believes ChatGPT has the potential to develop advertising in this direction—not merely intrusive ads but ones that help users find valuable content.
Initially, OpenAI plans to test ads in the U.S. market before expanding to others.
When asked about profitability, Sam Altman replied that the company is currently focused on growth."We are growing at a very rapid pace,"he said. As long as OpenAI can maintain reasonable unit costs, Altman noted, "the company should continue expanding as fast as possible and choose the right time to pursue profitability."
Overall, the AI competition between the U.S. and China is reaching a critical turning point. It’s not just about technology but a global economic game. The key question is who can turn "progress" into a "sustainable business model" first, and OpenAI is fully engaged in this battle.
Source:CNBC
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