this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2026
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Startup doesn’t really have a strict definition but generally the term is used for a business with an unproven business model that has to scale rapidly just to be viable, and often relies on VC funding. This is opposed to like starting your own plumbing business with your own capital and you’re profitable as soon as you pick up a couple regular clients.
OpenAI doesn’t have a business model yet and they don’t make any money so it makes sense that they haven’t shed the startup label. Like a roughly accurate test is to imagine what would happen if all the outside investments disappeared overnight. Could OpenAI continue operating on its own two feet? If the answer is no, it’s still a startup.
If it's "not strictly defined" and used when it's convenient, then it's meaningless.
If the term is meaningless or counter-intuitive jargon, then it shouldn't be included in a headline.
If openAI has an "unproven business model" they're not a startup they're a failed business living off of borrowed and leveraged assets.
It has a meaning, there just isn’t a strictly defined point at which something is no longer a startup. It’s used when it makes sense, which it does in this case. I’m guessing you’re not a native English speaker which is the source of your frustration. In the English language we have lots of words that are used to describe things which aren’t like enforced by some kind of regulating body. Colloquial uses of all kinds of words are pretty common.
Thats what makes them a startup. “Failing businesses living off borrowed and leveraged assets with a hope and a dream that if they get big enough they won’t be failing anymore” is a pretty accurate assessment of what a startup is.