On October 7, 2025, OpenAI delivered a major set of product and strategic updates at its annual developer conference (DevDay 2025)—from built‑in ChatGPT apps to Agent‑based automated shopping, and to the enterprise coding engine Codex being formally commercialized. This sequence of moves sends a clear message: ChatGPT is evolving from a “conversational AI assistant” into an “AI platform + business hub.”
From Chat Tool to Application Platform: Launching Internal ChatGPT Apps
At this year’s DevDay, OpenAI announced the opening of the Apps SDK, allowing third‑party developers to integrate applications such as Spotify, Canva, Zillow, and Coursera into the ChatGPT interface. Users will no longer need to jump out of ChatGPT to call those functions. Altman explicitly stated that this step allows ChatGPT to evolve toward a “chat-as-action” platform, meaning users can “do more things inside ChatGPT.” For industries and enterprises, this means AI may no longer be just a supporting tool, but can become a new user entry point, workflow hub, and transaction hub. Moreover, in‑app capability has dual significance: it deepens user stickiness while creating opportunities for the platform to “extract value”—shifting from a traffic entry to a commerce entry.
Codex Goes GA: The Era of AI‑Driven Software Collaboration
Another heavyweight announcement was that Codex has officially entered a generalized commercial stage. Previously in preview or experimental phases, Codex now more fully supports SDK, enterprise monitoring, Slack integration, and other capabilities. On the technical side, this indicates OpenAI is not only positioning itself as a model provider, but pushing into the role of “AI assistant / collaborator”: you can hand tasks to Codex and let it execute, optimize, and feedback in the background. For developers and software teams, this signals a new productivity tool cycle—half “coding,” half “instruction-guided.”
Agent-based Shopping: The Emergent Form of AI Transactions
Beyond application interfaces, OpenAI also demonstrated Agent‑led shopping capabilities—what they call “agentic commerce.” That means inside ChatGPT, users can complete product selection, ordering, and payment, closing the loop between conversation and transaction. Once matured, this transaction capability would make ChatGPT not just a “knowledge entry point,” but a new channel for e-commerce, services, and financial transactions. It may impose structural challenges on traditional e-commerce and platform distribution systems.
Computation Bet: The Ecosystem Barrier Behind $1 Trillion Investment
An OpenAI ecosystem requires computational power as its backbone. Just before the conference, OpenAI struck a multi-year partnership with AMD to deploy 6,000 MW of AMD GPU capacity—equivalent to the electricity usage of 5 million U.S. homes. That is only a tip of OpenAI’s compute deployment iceberg. This year, OpenAI has signed deals with total commitment up to $1 trillion, with partners including AMD, NVIDIA, Oracle, and more. Altman’s goal is to build 250 GW of compute infrastructure by 2033—a scale comparable to one-third of U.S. peak electricity demand. Such huge investments reflect a clear business logic: when Sora 2 reaches over a million downloads in its first week, and the API is processing 6 billion tokens per minute, compute becomes the foundational infrastructure for ecosystem expansion. The “O-chain” is forming. Just like Apple’s supply chain, from compute providers like AMD and Oracle to application layer companies such as Figma and HubSpot, more and more firms see their stock prices soar because of OpenAI. NVIDIA announced a $100 billion investment into OpenAI, and storage chip giants Samsung and SK Hynix have joined the $500 billion Stargate plan.
Platform Game: The Ultimate Competition in the AI Ecosystem
OpenAI’s ecological layout is deeply layered: at the base is the compute network (partners such as AMD, NVIDIA), the middle is model capability (GPT‑5, Sora 2, etc.), above that are development tools (AgentKit, Apps SDK), and the outermost layer is the application ecosystem (ChatGPT + myriad third-party apps). The shift from technical competition to ecosystem competition is precisely the mark of maturity for all tech giants. Yet profitability remains an unsolved challenge. Despite a valuation of $500 billion, market analysts expect OpenAI to lose over $50 billion in 2025. Goldman Sachs predicts that in 2026 its total capital requirement may jump from $35 billion to around $114 billion.
Conclusion: The War Over the AI Operating System Has Just Begun
OpenAI’s pivot is essentially a realization that “model dividends are peaking.” Once Google and Meta can produce comparable models, the true moat becomes ecosystem. But challenges follow: how to avoid App Store monopoly issues? Can low-code AgentKit outperform specialized tools like Dify or Coze?
What can be affirmed is that this “ecosystem-building movement” has already rewritten industry rules. For developers, the cost to join has dropped to a historic low; for enterprises, the “last mile” of AI deployment has been opened. What OpenAI must now do is find balance between “traffic control” and “ecosystem vitality”—after all, becoming the “Apple of the AI era” is far harder than being a mere model company.
[Disclaimer]: The above content reflects analysis of publicly available information, expert insights, and BCC research. It does not constitute investment advice. BCC is not responsible for any losses resulting from reliance on the views expressed herein. Investors should exercise caution.