Subvolts take OpenAI's CEO details Sora, strategy, and the future of AI development. Feb 10, 2026 - Developers
- Learn about OpenAI's approach to model evaluation and internal usage, potentially informing your own development.
- Business
- Understand the strategic thinking behind OpenAI's diverse bets and the vision for building an AI empire.
Direct discussion with OpenAI's CEO about major product releases and company strategy provides significant insight.
Sam Altman on Sora, Energy, and Building an AI Empire
Audio streams from a16z. Your place is remembered on this device.
From Subvolts
Summary and analysis by Subvolts editorial, AI-assisted.
Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO, joins a16z's Ben Horowitz and Erik Torenberg to discuss OpenAI's strategy, the release of Sora, internal model usage, and AI evaluation methods. They explore the core ideas behind OpenAI's diverse projects and future directions for the company, which has grown into a leading AI startup.
Sam Altman talks about OpenAI's big ideas, including their new video tool called Sora. He explains why they are building different AI projects and how they decide what's good. It's interesting for anyone curious about how AI is changing.
This episode offers direct insight from OpenAI's leader on the company's ambitious strategy and recent developments like Sora. It's for anyone tracking AI's rapid advancement, especially those interested in how a major lab balances research, product releases, and long-term vision. Listeners learn about OpenAI's internal processes and strategic thinking, relevant as the company navigates the competitive AI landscape.
- Hosta16z
- GuestSam AltmanOpenAI
- Guest: Sam Altman
- Title: Sam Altman on Sora, Energy, and Building an AI Empire
- Show: AI + a16z
- Length: 48 minutes
- OpenAI's founding year: 2015
Sam Altman has led OpenAI from its founding as a research nonprofit in 2015 to becoming the most valuable startup in the world ten years later.
In this episode, a16z Cofounder Ben Horowitz and General Partner Erik Torenberg sit down with Sam to discuss the core thesis behind OpenAI’s disparate bets, why they released Sora, how they use models internally, the best AI evals, and where we’re going from here.
Follow Sam on X: https://x.com/sama
Follow OpenAI on X: https://x.com/openai
Learn more about OpenAI: https://openai.com/
Try Sora: https://sora.com/
Follow Ben on X: https://x.com/bhorowitz
Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg
Check out everything a16z is doing with artificial intelligence here, including articles, projects, and more podcasts.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
24 minHow AI Is Rewriting the Rules of Cybersecurity | Truffle Security & Socket
WithDylan Ayrey, Feross Aboukhadijeh
47 minInside vLLM: The Engine Powering Open-Source AI
WithSimon Mo
41 minBuilding Self-Accelerating AI with Mirendil
WithBehnam Neyshabur, Harsh Mehta
43 minIdeogram’s Open-Weights Image Model and the Future of AI Design
WithMohammad Norouzi
Same guests, other shows
1 h
1 h 14All things AI w @altcap @sama & @satyanadella. A Halloween Special. 🎃🔥BG2 w/ Brad Gerstner
WithSatya Nadella, Sam Altman
40 minSam Altman on AGI, GPT-5, and what’s next - Episode 1
WithSam Altman
59 min
2 h 23Approaching the AI Event Horizon? Part 2, w/ Abhi Mahajan, Helen Toner, Jeremie Harris, @8teAPi
WithAbhi Mahajan, Helen Toner, Jeremie Harris
1 h 09Is Something Big Happening?, AI Safety Apocalypse, Anthropic Raises $30 Billion
WithRanjan Roy, Steven Adler
2 h 11The AI CEO Arrives: Sam Altman's Succession Plan, Job Loss Continues, and Our 2027 'Solve Everything' Paper | EP #230
WithSalim Ismail, Dave Blundin, Alexander Wissner-Gross
Questions people ask
- What will Sam Altman discuss?
- Sam Altman will discuss OpenAI's core thesis, the release of Sora, internal model usage, and AI evaluation methods.
- Who is hosting the episode?
- The episode is hosted by a16z Cofounder Ben Horowitz and General Partner Erik Torenberg.
Page generated Oct 19, 2026. Summaries are Subvolts' own; the audio, artwork and notes belong to a16z.