4 New Axios Newsrooms Funded by OpenAI

OpenAI To Fund Four New Axios Newsrooms 01/16/2025

OpenAI is funding four new Axios newsrooms as part of a multi-year deal that should see investment in 100 new locations, Axios reports. This is a first for OpenAI, Axios reports. The four newsrooms are in Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Boulder, Colorado, and Huntsville, Alabama, bringing the total of Axios newsrooms to 34.

As part of the arrangement, ChatGPT will use Axios content to answer user queries. In addition, Axios can utilize OpenAI technology to build its own systems, Axios reports. The OpenAI technology will be utilized to help build a system for the creation, distribution, and monetization of journalism, says Allison Murphy, chief operating officer of Axios, and Aja Whitaker-Moore, editor in chief in a memo to employees.

Partnerships and Collaborations

OpenAI aims to be a thoughtful partner, helping journalists with time-consuming tasks, improving ChatGPT’s understanding of sources of current news events, and offering new ways for publishers to reach readers through ChatGPT. The partnerships with publishers like News Corp, The Atlantic, Vox Media, Prisa Media, Condé Nast, Hearst, and Dotdash Meredith enable ChatGPT search to now feature select summaries and excerpts from trusted media outlets with clear citations and direct links to original sources, according to OpenAI.

OpenAI partners with Axios in latest media deal:

Axios concedes in its story that while OpenAI leads in making deals with media publishers, AI competitors are catching up. OpenAI is also facing a contentious copyright infringement lawsuit filed by the New York Times in 2023, with Microsoft being named as a defendant. However, OpenAI mentions that Microsoft, a minority owner in OpenAI, has committed to paying news providers to feature their content in its Copilot AI assistant.

Media Partnerships

OpenAI has partnered with almost 20 media firms to bring OpenAI’s technology to more than 160 news outlets.