Yesterday, OpenAI President Greg Brockman personally revealed their heavyweight model achievement after two years of research—the Spud large model—on the Big Technology Podcast.
This large model, kept under wraps by OpenAI for two years, is reportedly the core focus where the company concentrated its computing power after recently shutting down Sora.
"Spud," which translates literally to "potato" in Chinese, recalls OpenAI's previous naming convention where "Strawberry" eventually became the o1 series. So, will Spud be the next o1?
Spud: OpenAI's Secret Weapon
While "Spud" sounds unassuming, according to The Information and Greg Brockman himself, Spud is a new pre-training base.
Greg Brockman stated explicitly: "I view Spud as a new foundation, a new pre-training... I would say this model probably aggregates two years of our research results."
Regarding the model's progress, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced in an internal memo that the next-generation AI model, codenamed "Spud," has completed pre-training. He described the model as "extremely powerful," expecting tangible results within the coming weeks, and noted it could "significantly accelerate the global economy."
To pave the way for Spud, OpenAI recently made the decisive move to shut down its video generation model, Sora, freeing up valuable computing resources to support Spud and other priority projects. Furthermore, OpenAI plans to build a desktop-level "AI Super App" with Spud as its underlying architecture.
Based on gathered information, Spud does not appear to be a minor upgrade.
The Smell of a Large Model: Describing Functionality with Senses
After discussing Spud's origins, let's look at its capabilities. According to Greg Brockman:
Unlocking New Capabilities: It can now do things previously impossible. Those frustrating moments where the AI "didn't quite get it" and required multiple explanations are disappearing.
Longer Time Horizons: The AI is no longer just good at short tasks lasting a few minutes; it can autonomously handle complex, open-ended, multi-step long-term problems.
New Pre-training Foundation: Both Greg Brockman and Sam Altman have repeatedly emphasized that Spud's goal goes far beyond making chatbots more usable; it is a new foundation aimed at accelerating the entire economy.
However, what truly intrigued the editor is a new term used by Greg Brockman: "Big Model Smell."
What is "Big Model Smell"? Why are sensory words being applied to large models?
Greg's original remarks were roughly: "There is something called 'Big Model Smell'... When these models are actually smarter and more capable, they align with you more, and you can feel it."
In layman's terms, this is not objectively quantifiable data but a subjective feeling:
The AI model feels smooth to use; it understands the user's intended meaning without needing repeated prompt adjustments.
Netizens: The First Model That Truly "Thinks"!
As a mysterious large model, many netizens have expressed their expectations for Spud:
"It is the first model that truly 'thinks'."
"The taste of a large model"—I like this framework. When the model stops resisting and starts thinking with you, you feel it immediately."
However, some netizens are puzzled: Is Spud GPT-5.5 or GPT-6?
The editor believes Spud is more likely a GPT-5.5 or similar iterative version, serving as a stepping stone for OpenAI towards GPT-6.
What do the experts in the comments section think? Will Spud be GPT-5.5, or will it leap directly into the GPT-6 era? What surprises will the new "Big Model Smell" feature bring?
Welcome to share your thoughts in the comments section!