OpenAI buying TBPN makes little sense, and that might be the point

It has been reported that OpenAI is acquiring the technology behind TBPN — a move that Ben Thompson of Stratechery calls baffling. Thompson argues the purchase “makes little sense,” and frames it as par for the course for a company that, much like Twitter years ago, stumbled into a massive market and now faces the harder work: turning attention into a functional, sustainable business. Big splash. Big questions.

The deal and the critique

Thompson’s case is simple and sharp. TBPN, he suggests, is one more shiny asset — clever tech, maybe interesting tokens — that won’t, by itself, solve OpenAI’s core problems around monetization, governance, and product-market fit. It has been reported that the acquisition is being pitched as a defensive and strategic move; others say it’s about talent and IP. Allegedly, the purchase is meant to help OpenAI navigate a “token tsunami” of new economic layers around AI, but Thompson warns that adding more complexity isn’t the same as finding a business model.

What it means for OpenAI (and us)

So what are the options? Buy-and-build, bolt-on features, or try to preempt rivals. None of those are guaranteed winners. OpenAI has enormous reach and a product that people obsess over — but obsession is not revenue. Remember Twitter: massive cultural impact, murky economics, and a parade of attempts to square the circle. Is OpenAI repeating the same mistake, just with larger models and fancier branding? It’s a fair, slightly uncomfortable question.

The bottom line

This acquisition will be parsed as either prescient or panicked. Thompson’s take is a reminder that scale and hype don’t equal a workable business model. For now, expect more deals, more experiments, and more hand-wringing. Will any of it deliver real, repeatable revenue? Or are we watching another platform chase its tail, albeit with better PR? Time — and the ledgers — will tell.

Sources: stratechery.com