OpenAI CEO Sam Altman tells employees in internal memo: Google’s AI success could create “a decisive competitive moment
In a recently leaked internal memo, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman addressed employees with a clear and urgent message: Google’s accelerating progress in artificial intelligence could create a “decisive competitive moment” for the entire industry.
However, Altman reassured that OpenAI is catching up fast and anticipates emerging as the leader in the AI race. It’s important to note that Altman’s memo was written before Google’s Gemini 3 was released, a model the tech giant has described as its most capable to date. Software developers have reported that the new model performed well on tasks such as automating website and product design and writing code, which is a lucrative revenue stream for OpenAI and its competitors, such as Anthropic.
Altman’s memo highlights the growing intensity of the AI race — especially as Google continues to roll out powerful models, integrate Gemini across its products, and strengthen its global AI ecosystem.
Google’s AI Momentum
In the memo, Altman reportedly pointed out that Google’s rapid advancements are not just impressive but strategically important. Meanwhile, Google has been integrating its Gemini AI chatbot into its search app, productivity tools and other services. However, Claude gained a new challenger from OpenAI with the introduction of Codex. Google has:
Deep integration of AI across Search, Android, YouTube, and Workspace
Large compute infrastructure through Google Cloud TPUs
A strong research team pushing frontier models
A massive global user base ready to adopt new features instantly
These strengths, Altman stated, make Google a uniquely positioned competitor. Google also holds an economic advantage. OpenAI’s growth has been rapid, and the company now carries a valuation of around $500 billion as a for-profit entity. It is expected to bring in about $13 billion in revenue, but is estimated to burn roughly $100 billion in its push toward superintelligence.
Sam Altman wrote in the internal memo, that is “We have built enough strength as a company to weather great models shipping elsewhere competition, so having most of our research team focused on really getting to superintelligence is critically important.”
Why Altman’s Message Matters
Altman’s internal note emphasizes that the AI industry may be entering a critical phase — where leadership could shift faster than expected. For OpenAI, which has dominated headlines with GPT-5, Sora, and other innovations, Google’s momentum serves as both competition and motivation.
Altman reportedly encouraged employees to:
Move faster
Execute more aggressively
Stay aligned on long-term vision
Avoid complacency
He noted that the next 12–24 months could define which companies lead the future of AI adoption globally.
The Bigger Picture
The AI battle between OpenAI and Google is not merely about models — it’s about:
Computing power
Ecosystem integration
Developer trust
Safety & reliability
Global adoption
This internal memo indicates that OpenAI sees Google as a serious and rising challenge — not a competitor to ignore.
Now, OpenAI has partnered with Apple’s largest supplier, Foxconn, to design and build AI data centre components in the US. Under this partnership, OpenAI will help develop future server systems and may purchase Foxconn-produced hardware in the coming days. Altman noted that this collaboration can strengthen American manufacturing infrastructure.
Foxconn will join OpenAI’s supply chain to manufacture AI-related hardware in a more American way. The company, known for iPhone assembly, also manufactures AI servers and supplies components to Nvidia.
lets have see our Sam Altman what says and what doing better his company . they are intelligence so lets have see.