OPENAI unveiled a partnership with Reddit that will bring the social network’s content to chatbot ChatGPT and other products, and allow Reddit to add new artificial intelligence (AI) features to its online communities.
Reddit shares jumped 11 per cent in late trading following the announcement.
The agreement “will enable OpenAI’s AI tools to better understand and showcase Reddit content, especially on recent topics”, the companies said on Thursday (May 16). Reddit will also offer its users new AI-based tools built on OpenAI’s models, and OpenAI will become a Reddit advertising partner. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Reddit last week released new policies governing the use of its data, part of an effort to increase revenue through licensing agreements with AI developers and other companies. The company, which sold shares in an initial public offering (IPO) in March, also signed an accord in January with Alphabet’s Google worth US$60 million to help train large language models, the technology underpinning generative AI. The San Francisco-based social network has signed licensing deals worth US$203 million in total, with terms ranging from two to three years.
OpenAI, for its part, is increasingly forging partnerships with media companies to help train its AI systems and show more real-time content within its chatbot. The ChatGPT maker also penned deals with Dotdash Meredith earlier this month and the Financial Times in April.
Sam Altman, chief executive officer of OpenAI, has a long history with Reddit – he was one of the company’s largest shareholders at the time of its IPO earlier this year, and briefly served as Reddit’s interim CEO in 2014. The companies noted that their partnership was led by OpenAI chief operating officer Brad Lightcap, and was approved by its independent directors.
GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
The shares of Reddit, which had declined 5.5 per cent to US$56.38 in New York trading, soared as high as US$64.75 after the partnership was announced. The stock has gained 66 per cent since its IPO. BLOOMBERG
