OpenAI is again in code-red mode, and this time the pressure is coming from rival AI company Anthropic. The ChatGPT maker is reportedly making some major changes to its internal strategy, with senior executives asking employees to focus on core products and business tools instead of side projects. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI is now prioritising coding tools, enterprise software, and productivity features after its rival Anthropic’s Claude gained a clear lead in the developer market.
OpenAI senior executives have reportedly told staff that the company can no longer afford to be distracted by experimental ideas and must concentrate on products that drive real business use. According to the WSJ report, the sense of urgency was conveyed during a recent all-hands meeting where Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s CEO of applications, told employees that the company must not miss the current opportunity because of “side quests”.
Simo further stressed that OpenAI needs to nail productivity and strengthen its position among business users, particularly in software development, which has become one of the most competitive segments in the AI race. “We cannot miss this moment because we are distracted by side quests We really have to nail productivity in general and particularly productivity on the business front,” Simo said in the meeting, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Executives, including CEO Sam Altman and chief research officer Mark Chen, are also reportedly reviewing which projects should be scaled back as part of the new focus.
OpenAI’s shift in direction is said to be the result of the company taking on too many ambitious projects at the same time. Over the past year, the company launched or explored products ranging from the Sora video generator to hardware concepts, browser experiments, and e-commerce features inside ChatGPT.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had previously described this approach as similar to “betting on a series of startups” within the company, a strategy that helped position OpenAI as an early AI leader but also stretched resources and created confusion about priorities.
Employees reportedly said the broad approach sometimes made it difficult to understand the company’s long-term direction, especially as computing power and teams were frequently reassigned between projects.
Meanwhile, pressure from Anthropic appears to be one of the biggest reasons behind the reset. The report says Anthropic’s Claude Code and related tools have become extremely popular among software engineers and enterprise customers, with many developers spending long periods testing the system’s capabilities. OpenAI executives have reportedly described this success as a wake-up call, prompting the company to move quickly to regain leadership in the segment.
Simo told employees that OpenAI is acting “as if it’s a code red”, but added that the goal is to stay focused rather than panic.
Meanwhile, to get back on track, OpenAI has also started strengthening its developer offerings. The company recently released an updated version of its Codex coding tool along with a new GPT-5.4 model designed for professional use.
