OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has shared a post on microblogging site X, announcing a delay in the launch of the company’s upcoming open-weight AI model. The model was originally scheduled to launch next week. In the post, Altman said the teams needs more time to carry out safety tests and closely review areas that could pose risks. “We planned to launch our open-weight model next week..we are delaying it,” he wrote, adding “we need time to run additional safety tests and review high-risk areas…we are not yet sure how long it will take us.”OpenAI is planning to release the model with open weights, meaning developers and researchers will be able to download and use the AI system on their own. In his post, Altman stressed that once the model is out, it can not be taken back and hence makes it important to get everything right before release.He said “while we trust the community will build great things with this model, once weights are out, they can’t be pulled back. this is new for us and we want to get it right.” Altman continued: “sorry to be the bearer of bad news; we are working super hard!”

An open-weight model is a type of AI model where the underlying "weights" — the core numerical values that define the model’s knowledge and behavior — are shared publicly. These weights are the result of training a model on vast datasets and represent what the model has learned.Unlike models that run only on company servers, open-weight models can be used and modified directly by others. This makes them more flexible for developers, but also raises concerns about how the models might be misused.