Sam Altman: Google Gemini 3 Poses 'Economic Headwinds' for OpenAI

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told employees in a recent internal memo that Google’s latest advances in AI could “create some temporary economic headwinds” for OpenAI, while urging staff that the company is “catching up fast” and will remain competitive. The memo, reported by The Information, frames the Google developments as a near-term challenge rather than an existential threat.

Altman’s note, circulated internally last month and summarised by the report, acknowledged that the outside environment may be “difficult for some time,” even as he sought to reassure employees that OpenAI’s research and product teams are focused on the company’s long-term bets.

The memo language reflects a rare public admission by OpenAI leadership that rivals are narrowing the gap on key model and product capabilities.

Google’s Gemini 3.0

The timing of the memo closely follows Google’s rollout of Gemini 3, which Google describes as its most capable multimodal and reasoning model to date and which the company has embedded across Search, developer tools and consumer apps.

The Gemini 3 launch has been widely covered as a meaningful step up for Google’s AI stack and is likely the competitive development Altman referenced.

The competitive pressure comes against a backdrop of intense capital spending and rapid top-line growth at OpenAI. The company has been reported to be on an annualised revenue run rate in the low-double-digit billions. and is planning large infrastructure investments.

OpenAI’s Financial Aim

Reuters earlier this year noted OpenAI’s aim to hit roughly $13 billion in full-year revenue while projecting significant cash-burn targets; other reporting has highlighted even larger multi-year spending scenarios.

The company’s finance chief, Sarah Friar, also told top investors recently that user engagement on ChatGPT had cooled, a development she linked to product decisions made to reduce certain types of risky or harmful outputs, underscoring how product-level trade-offs can affect usage even as revenues grow. That message reinforced internal concerns about balancing safety, experience and competitive features.

Altman has privately and publicly pushed back on narrow interpretations of OpenAI’s financial outlook. In recent interviews he said the firm is doing “well more” than some published revenue estimates and reiterated confidence in the company’s long-term trajectory. Still, the internal memo signals a shift in tone, from unqualified dominance to a nuanced strategy that admits short-term pressure while doubling down on big research bets.