openai-product-stack-foundation-specialized-agents-consumer

Summary

OpenAI builds its products as a stack where each layer sits on the one below it: general-purpose models at the base, then models tuned for specific jobs like images or code, then agents that can act on a user's behalf, and finally the everyday apps people interact with. This layering means a change or weakness at the foundation level ripples up through every consumer-facing feature, and it also means OpenAI's competitiveness depends on keeping all four layers advancing in lockstep rather than just shipping a better base model.