OpenAI’s new image generator, powered by the large language model GPT-4o, is now available to all users. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote about this on his page on the social network X. Until now, only paid subscribers of ChatGPT could use the new AI image generator.
Image source: OpenAI
Free users of the service can currently generate no more than two images per day. Altman previously mentioned the possibility of introducing a limit of three images per day. OpenAI’s image generation tool instantly became extremely popular immediately after its mass launch. Altman stated that the demand for image generation was so high that the company’s graphics accelerators simply “melted.”
The generator quickly became known for being used to transform images into the style of Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli. This raised concerns about copyright infringement, as the images the AI generator produced were very similar to the studio’s work. Some people also used the tool to create fake receipts, such as restaurant bills. The company responded by saying that all AI-generated images contain metadata indicating their origin.
At the same time, OpenAI announced that it had raised $40 billion in funding, giving the company a market value of $300 billion. Softbank was the lead investor in the funding round. The company also announced that its ChatGPT AI bot is used by over 500 million people worldwide every week, while the number of monthly active users has grown to 700 million people.