OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, is reportedly working on its own social media network, a strategic move inspired by xAI’s integration of its Grok AI with the X social platform, according to a report from The Verge.

The project, currently in its early stages with an internal prototype, centers on integrating ChatGPT’s image-generation capabilities into a social feed. While it remains uncertain whether this platform will launch as a standalone app or be embedded within the ChatGPT app, OpenAI’s ambitions signal a bold push to compete with Elon Musk’s X, Meta’s Facebook, and Instagram, while securing critical user data to fuel its AI models.

Copying xAI’s Blueprint for Data and AI Synergy

The impetus for OpenAI’s social media venture is believed to stem from xAI’s successful leveraging of X’s user-generated data to train its AI model, Grok. When Elon Musk acquired Twitter in 2022, later rebranding it as X, he restricted bot access to the platform’s data—a move that sparked backlash but was strategically designed to prevent competitors from freely harvesting X’s valuable content for AI training. When it was launched, Musk directed this data exclusively to xAI, his AI startup, enabling the development of Grok, a chatbot and AI model series that competes directly with OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Grok’s integration with X has fueled both AI advancements and new forms of content creation, creating a feedback loop that strengthens the platform’s ecosystem.

OpenAI, led by CEO Sam Altman, appears to be emulating this approach. By building its own social network, OpenAI could gain direct access to real-time, human-generated data—text, images, videos, and commentary—to train its AI models, such as GPT-4 and the new 4o image-generation tool. This would reduce OpenAI’s dependence on scraping publicly available internet data, which is increasingly difficult and expensive to obtain at the scale required for cutting-edge AI development.

The Verge’s report suggests that OpenAI’s prototype is a direct response to xAI’s data-driven strategy, positioning OpenAI to replicate the synergy between social engagement and AI innovation that has propelled xAI and X.

Why a Social Network? Rivalry, Attention, and Data

Bill Gross, founder of tech incubator Idealab, outlined three key motivations behind OpenAI’s social media push, as cited by The Verge: a personal rivalry between Altman and Musk, the need to capture greater user attention to justify a trillion-dollar valuation, and the pursuit of high-quality, labeled data for AI training.

Altman vs. Musk: Gross emphasized that Altman’s competitive dynamic with Musk, a former OpenAI co-founder, is a significant driver. “Altman doesn’t like Musk, so why not start competing head-on with X?” Gross told The Verge. This rivalry adds a personal layer to OpenAI’s strategic pivot, as Altman seeks to challenge Musk’s dominance in the AI and social media arenas.

Capturing Attention: OpenAI, recently valued at approximately $300 billion, is striving to join the trillion-dollar valuation club alongside Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta, all of which boast billions of daily users.

“Altman needs to have more attention to justify OpenAI’s valuation,” Gross explained.

ChatGPT already attracts between half a billion and a billion monthly unique visitors, but a social network could amplify this reach by enabling users to share AI-generated content, such as images, in a dynamic feed.

“They just need more attention. So why not harvest the output of their models that users will share on a new social network, and this should attract even more users and even more attention,” Gross added, echoing the sentiment of Google’s seminal AI paper, “Attention Is All You Need.”

The Data Imperative: The most critical motivation is data. AI companies like OpenAI have an insatiable demand for human-generated content to train their models. While raw data is valuable, labeled data, where users provide context through comments, captions, or interactions—is far more useful for AI development. A social network would provide OpenAI with a continuous stream of such data.

“If users start typing words into this new OpenAI social network, the company can use that for all kinds of AI model training,” Gross said. “Users would also share images and videos and add commentary. This is essentially humans identifying and labeling content on a massive scale.”

This mirrors xAI’s approach, where X’s user activity directly informs Grok’s training, creating a powerful cycle of data collection and AI refinement.

The Prototype and Altman’s Next Steps

According to The Verge, OpenAI’s internal prototype focuses on integrating ChatGPT’s image-generation capabilities with a social feed, potentially allowing users to create and share AI-generated visuals alongside text-based posts. While specifics remain limited, the prototype’s existence indicates that OpenAI is actively exploring this venture.

Altman has reportedly been seeking external feedback, privately consulting industry outsiders to refine the project’s direction. In a recent post on X, Altman hinted at OpenAI’s evolving strategy, stating, “How about we fix our model naming by this summer and everyone gets a few more months to make fun of us (which we very much deserve) until then?”

Though lighthearted, the comment reflects Altman’s awareness of the competitive pressures and the need to innovate rapidly.

OpenAI did not respond to The Verge’s inquiries, leaving many details speculative. Key questions remain: Will the platform prioritize user privacy, given its data-intensive goals? How will it differentiate itself in a crowded social media landscape? And will it ever progress beyond the prototype stage to a public launch?

A New Era of AI-Driven Social Platforms

OpenAI’s social media ambitions reflect a broader shift in the tech industry, where AI and user data are increasingly inseparable. A decade ago, social platforms monetized attention through targeted advertising. Today, the focus has shifted to collecting user activity to train powerful AI models, which are then offered as premium services or subscriptions.

Meta and X already leverage their vast user bases to fuel their AI initiatives, giving them a significant advantage. OpenAI, lacking a native social platform, is at a disadvantage—hence the push to create one, inspired by xAI’s model.

Access Holdings Plc closed its 2024 financial year with a robust profit profile, cementing its position among Nigeria’s most aggressive and expansive banking institutions.

The group posted a pre-tax profit of N867.02 billion, a solid 19% increase from the N729.00 billion recorded in the previous year. Although the profit after tax rose marginally by 3.7% to N642.22 billion from N619.32 billion, the group’s ability to deliver growth amid tightening market conditions and rising cost pressures speaks to its scale, aggressive lending drive, and improved investment returns.

The most striking feature of the 2024 performance is the sheer size of gross earnings, which nearly doubled to N4.878 trillion from N2.594 trillion in 2023. This 88% jump is a reflection of both the group’s aggressive expansion in interest-generating assets and the sharp rise in interest rates over the year. Interest income alone surged by more than 110% to N3.48 trillion, meaning that over 71% of the bank’s revenue came from its core business of lending and investing. The contribution of interest income to total gross earnings increased by about 12% year-on-year, underlining Access Holdings’ sustained focus on its primary revenue engine.

A deeper dive into this interest income reveals that about 51% came from loans to customers and other banks, while 47% was derived from investments in securities, including government and corporate bonds. The remaining 2%, although a small proportion, came from cash balances. Interestingly, this segment of the bank’s income grew by nearly 1,000% in 2024, showing how even idle liquidity was efficiently deployed to earn returns, especially amid rising monetary policy rates.

However, Access Holdings also faced a sharp increase in its interest expenses, which rose by 130.7% to N2.212 trillion. Much of this cost, about 88%, was tied to interest payments on customer deposits and borrowings from other financial institutions. The group’s balance sheet shows that deposits from customers climbed steeply, rising by nearly N12 trillion, or 61%, to stand at just under N32 trillion. While this deepened the group’s liquidity base and gave it the firepower to lend and invest, it also meant that Access had to offer higher interest to attract and retain depositors, reflecting the high-rate environment in 2024.

Altogether, the group spent over 63% of its interest income on deposit-related interest expenses. However, it still managed to grow its net interest income to N1.268 trillion, up 82.4% from the previous year. After accounting for impairment charges, which rose 75.8% to N245.32 billion largely due to higher provisions for bad loans and investment losses, net interest income stood at N1.023 trillion—an 84% increase that underscores the group’s capacity to extract value from its core activities even in the face of rising credit risk.

Access Holdings also reported a substantial increase in its non-interest income, although its contribution to overall revenue shrank when measured as a percentage of gross earnings. Fees and commission income contributed about 10.5% of gross earnings, while fair value gains and foreign exchange earnings added another 8.5%. Nonetheless, the absolute figures were significantly higher than those of 2023. The group raked in N162 billion in credit-related fees, marking a 60% jump from the previous year, and earned another N59.8 billion from account maintenance charges, up 87%. These numbers contributed to total fees and commission income of N415.24 billion, nearly doubling year-on-year.

The bank’s balance sheet continues to be driven by a deposit-heavy model, with customer and institutional deposits accounting for 77% of its total assets in 2024. This structure remains a competitive advantage, as deposits typically come at a lower cost compared to wholesale borrowing. However, it also exposes the group to liquidity and interest rate risks, especially if market dynamics push depositors toward alternative investment outlets with better yields. Nonetheless, the group seems to be actively managing these risks, particularly as it prepares to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s new capital requirement.

To shore up its capital base, Access Holdings carried out a rights issue in July 2024, raising N351 billion. Existing shareholders were allowed to purchase one new share for every two shares they held at a price of N19.75 per share. After deducting associated costs, the group added N343 billion to its equity, bringing its share capital and premium to N594.903 billion, a 136% rise from the prior year. This capital injection played a major role in strengthening shareholders’ funds, which jumped by 72% to N3.76 trillion.

From a capital adequacy and liquidity standpoint, the group appears well-positioned. Total assets closed the year at N41.50 trillion, a 55.9% growth, while cash and cash equivalents with banks rose by over 70% to N5.22 trillion. Loans and advances to customers also grew strongly by 42.9% to N11.49 trillion, showing that the group remains focused on expanding its credit book despite rising impairments. Retained earnings grew by 60% to N1.14 trillion, reinforcing Access Holdings’ ability to reinvest profits for future growth while still rewarding shareholders.

Shareholders are expected to receive a final dividend of N2.05 per share, taking the total dividend for the 2024 financial year to N2.50 per share. This dividend, when measured against the year’s closing share price, reflects the group’s commitment to shareholder returns, even as its share performance in 2025 has been somewhat underwhelming.

As of April 15, 2025, Access Holdings’ stock was trading at N21.40 per share, down 10.3% since the start of the year and 9% lower compared to mid-March. The company currently ranks 114th on the Nigerian Exchange in terms of year-to-date performance—a surprising decline considering the strength of its earnings. The market reaction suggests that investors may be cautious about rising impairments and the long-term cost of aggressive expansion, especially under a tighter regulatory and monetary environment.

Still, with a diversified revenue stream, a growing balance sheet, a bolstered capital base, and sustained profitability, Access Holdings appears determined to retain its status as a financial powerhouse in Nigeria’s banking sector. Whether the group can maintain this trajectory in 2025 will depend on how effectively it manages risk, curbs impairments, and optimizes returns on its growing pool of assets.