OpenAI Releases New 'Open Models' To Rival DeepSeek And Meta

OpenAI has taken yet another step to rival AI models from DeepSeek, Meta, and Alibaba. The company revealed two new "open models" on Tuesday named gpt-oss 120b and gpt-oss 20b. These are the first free and open models that OpenAI has released since it first debuted ChatGPT in 2022.

The move isn't wholly unexpected, as other companies like DeepSeek have been pushing the boundaries of AI availability with free and open models like China's R1 model, as well as Alibaba's Qwen family. This move is also a direct retaliation to China's continued progress in the AI market, and OpenAI clearly hopes that offering models like this — models that can rival its closed-off options — will give businesses and users the ability to rely on American AI instead of turning to foreign options.

This move also lines up with Trump's American AI Action Plan, which pushes for fewer regulations on AI companies so that they can continue to innovate and improve their offerings. But OpenAI isn't the only American company to offer "open weight" models. Meta has been offering its own options for months now — though there are concerns about Meta AI's self-improvement — so OpenAI playing catchup here is good news for some.

According to a breakdown of the two new models by OpenAI, these models are designed to run on different types of machines. The first, gpt-oss-120b is a large model designed to run in data centers and on high-end laptops, while gpt-oss-20b is a medium-sized model designed for most desktops and laptops. The dual offering should make it easier for companies to integrate them into their local and cloud systems without having to pay for API usage through the usual closed-source options found in ChatGPT.

OpenAI says both models are deeply customizable, come with Apache 2.0 license support, and are full of chain-of-thought and built for agentic tasks. The company also notes that safety is foundational to the operation of its open models, and it has ensured both models have completed thorough safety training to ensure developers and users remain safe when using them. That's an important note, especially with some voices suggesting that tech CEOs are downplaying the risks of AI right now.

The new models are also downloadable on Hugging Face already, or you can try out a special demo mode featured in the announcement post. OpenAI's move to open models is a big step for the company, and should give those relying on Chinese AI like DeepSeek another option to turn to, especially if they've already toyed with GPT in the past.