Official Statements on Independent Research
On September 8, 2026, OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman issued official statements clarifying the independence of their mathematical research while congratulating authors Levent Alpöge and Tristan Buckmaster.
In an official announcement, OpenAI extended direct congratulations to Alpöge and Buckmaster for their notable mathematical work. The company firmly stated that neither its researchers nor its AI agents viewed any part of the authors' work prior to its public release. OpenAI also emphasized that no specific user data was accessed to solve the problem.
Sam Altman on Team Integrity and Collaboration
Shortly after, CEO Sam Altman shared that he spent much of the weekend directly communicating with the team behind the project. According to Altman, an individual named Seb and everyone involved acted with integrity and generosity throughout the process. Altman explained that OpenAI initially believed the external research group had also solved the problem, prompting the company to seek a joint publication.
The statements from OpenAI and Altman primarily aimed to confirm the transparency of their internal research workflow, refuting concerns regarding early access to unpublished work or unauthorized data usage. Both updates were published directly on X by the official company account and executive leadership.
Currently, specific technical details regarding the mathematical problem, subsequent discussions following the unrealized joint announcement, and individual roles within the research team remain unelaborated.