Sam Altman Calls Google ‘A Huge Threat’, Says The Tech Giant Would Have Been Able To ‘Smash’ OpenAI In 2023

by | Dec 19, 2025 | General

Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, expressed concerns about Google’s dominance in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). He believes that Google’s immense power and business model could pose a significant threat in the AI space.

Altman Warns of Google’s AI Power

Altman, in a conversation with Alex Kantrowitz on the Big Technology Podcast, highlighted the potential danger that Google’s AI capabilities pose.

“Google is still a huge threat…you know extremely powerful company,” stated Altman.

He reflected on the situation in 2023 when Google’s AI efforts were not as effective due to their product direction. Altman suggested that if Google had chosen to focus on OpenAI at that time, the latter would have been in a “really bad place.”

“I think they would have just been able to smash us,” stated the OpenAI CEO.

Altman also noted that Google’s business model is one of the strongest in the tech industry, and he believes that the company will be slow to relinquish it.

However, he expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of Google simply integrating AI into existing systems like web search, suggesting that a complete redesign with AI at the forefront would be more successful.

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AI Shake-Up Puts OpenAI Under Pressure

Altman’s remarks come amid a rapidly evolving AI landscape. Earlier this month, OpenAI declared a “Code Red” crisis, pausing its monetization strategy to focus on product quality.

Meanwhile, Jim Cramer predicted that OpenAI’s future could be in jeopardy following Google’s advancements in AI technology. The CNBC host had posted, “It was only a matter of time before we heard from OpenAI about how it fell behind, and the rush of tens of millions of users right to Gemini 3 would be upon us.”

Altman’s analysis of Google also comes amid reports that OpenAI was eyeing a potential $1 trillion IPO, with the AI startup in discussions with investors for a $100 billion fundraise at a $750 billion valuation.

Price Action: On a year-to-date basis, Google-parent Alphabet‘s stock climbed 59.34% as per data from Benzinga Pro. On Thursday, it rose 1.91% to close at $303.75.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.