ChatGPT Nears 1B Active Users, Nvidia-Backed Reflection AI Looks to Become Open-Source Champ

ChatGPT is nearing 1 billion weekly active users, though growth has been slower than anticipated due to stiff competition from Anthropic and Google, prompting a strategic pivot toward enterprise-focused tools like Codex. Meanwhile, Stripe’s potential $10 billion acquisition of OpenRouter signals a high-stakes bet on AI infrastructure, despite concerns over the startup's revenue multiples and reliance on third-party APIs. Reflection AI, a well-funded lab with significant defense contracts, continues to develop its first frontier model, underscoring the complexities of training from scratch in a crowded market. Cisco’s Jeetu Patel advocates for open-source AI as a critical component of national security and operational efficiency, suggesting that the industry should move beyond polarized debates over safety to focus on long-term secular shifts in AI utility and the evolving economics of closed-source versus open-source development.