GPT-5 Stumbles on Launch, But AI Investors Bet Big

- Users criticize GPT-5’s incremental upgrades and colder tone. - Investors remain bullish, backing the AI industry’s long-term growth. OpenAI launched GPT-5 on August 16, 2025, drawing sharp criticism for its incremental improvements. Despite this, companies like Nvidia and SoftBank capitalized on booming AI confidence. While users noted some improvements, they also raised major concerns about rollout issues, a lack of innovation, and the model’s colder tone compared to its predecessors. Meanwhile, investor enthusiasm for the artificial intelligence sector underscores a strong belief in the industry’s long-term potential. On August 16, CoinDesk reported a lukewarm reception for GPT-5 from users and analysts. Although OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, in a launch day statement, had initially lauded the model as a “significant step along the path to AGI,” it soon faced backlash over bugs, usability issues, and disappointing advancements. Social media users highlighted failures in basic tasks like simple arithmetic and map labeling, while advanced users described the model as more mechanical than earlier versions. In response, OpenAI pledged to release updates, reinstated a previous model, and adjusted usage limits for its paying subscribers. The research community added to the scrutiny, positioning GPT-5 unfavorably against its competitors. A Princeton University study revealed that the model delivered only mid-level performance compared to rivals like Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, and xAI. While GPT-5 excelled in cost efficiency and speed, it fell short in intelligence benchmarks. Consequently, industry insiders suggest that possible cost-cutting measures may explain the model’s underwhelming innovations. Despite this user dissatisfaction, investor confidence in the AI sector remains strong. OpenAI continues to generate robust annual recurring revenue from its ChatGPT offering, which reinforces its financial stability. As demand for AI training hardware surges, cornerstone suppliers like Nvidia have experienced dramatic increases in valuation. This divergence between critical user feedback and investor optimism highlights a key trend: financial stakeholders still prioritize the strategic importance of AI infrastructure and applications.