The Verge
OpenAI hit the brakes. Now what?
Wednesday, August 19, 2026
OpenAI announced on Tuesday that it had slowed the pace of some AI development efforts while implementing security and safeguard improvements, including a two-week pause in certain projects. The company has not publicly disclosed which specific development areas were affected or the duration of the broader slowdown. OpenAI faces competition from Anthropic and other AI developers, and is preparing for a planned initial public offering.
