Altman Asks if OpenAI Should Release an Open Source o3-mini or Phone-Sized Model

OpenAI is considering its next open-source AI project. CEO Sam Altman asked users on X whether they prefer an o3-mini-level model or a phone-sized version.

“For our next open-source project, would it be more useful to create an o3-mini-level model, which is relatively small but still requires GPUs, or the best phone-sized model we can develop?” Altman asked in a poll on X.

This comes after Altman, in his recent blog post, said that the company is planning to release open-source models in the near future. 

“AI will seep into all areas of the economy and society; we will expect everything to be smart, ” Altman wrote. “Many of us expect to need to give people more control over the technology than we have historically, including open-sourcing more.”

Similarly, in an interview with Sky News, Altman said, “I think we should probably open source somewhat more.” 

During a Reddit ‘ask-me-anything’ (AMA) session, he said, “I personally think we have been on the wrong side of history here and need to figure out a different open-source strategy.”

The discussion comes amid a broader industry push for open-source AI, following the success of models like DeepSeek. Venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya commented on the debate, saying, “I think in the war of open versus closed, open has won.” He suggested that OpenAI is now considering ways to open-source parts of its work.

Meanwhile, Altman also announced the roadmap for the upcoming models GPT-4.5 and GPT-5. 

He revealed that GPT-4.5, internally referred to as Orion, will be the next release and the last non-chain-of-thought model. Following this, OpenAI plans to unify the o-series and GPT-series models, enabling systems that can integrate all tools and determine optimal thinking time for tasks.

GPT-5 will be introduced in ChatGPT and the API as a system incorporating various OpenAI technologies, including o3. OpenAI will not release o3 as a standalone model, Altman said, adding that GPT-4.5 or GPT-5 could be released within weeks or months.