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OpenAI Chief Scientist Calls Past Two Years 'Surprisingly Slow' as New Release Pace Sparks Speculation

Supported

Claim checked

“Jakub Pachocki “We see pretty significant improvements in the short term, extremely significant improvements in the medium term,” said Jakub Pachocki, OpenAI’s chief scientist. “In fact, I would say, like, I think the last two years have been surprisingly slow.” OpenAI staff said the fast paces of releases should keep coming for the foreseeable future. Meaning we can expect a new model within <60 days”

Published

Verdict

Supported

OpenAI Chief Scientist Jakub Pachocki has characterized the last two years of AI development as "surprisingly slow," promising "extremely significant improvements" in the near future. These comments coincided with the April 2026 launch of GPT-5.5, which arrived just one month after its predecessor, GPT-5.4. OpenAI leadership has officially confirmed that they intend to maintain a rapid release schedule for the foreseeable future.

5 reviewed sources behind this verdict.

Reasoning

The claims are directly supported by reporting from the GPT-5.5 launch event in late April 2026. The Decoder and Key Context by Tae Kim both quote Pachocki's specific remarks about the "surprisingly slow" pace of the past two years and his expectations for "significant improvements" in the short and medium term.

Furthermore, the evidence confirms that OpenAI executives explicitly agreed that the pace of model releases would increase, noting the short interval between GPT-5.4 and GPT-5.5. The social media post's suggestion of a <60 day window is a logical inference based on this documented 30-day release cycle between the two most recent flagship models.

Source quality: The evidence includes direct quotes from a press briefing and specific details about the release dates of GPT-5.4 and GPT-5.5 from reputable tech news sources.

Key checks

  • Jakub Pachocki's Statements: Pachocki did state that the last two years were 'surprisingly slow' and predicted 'extremely significant improvements' in the medium term during the GPT-5.5 launch event.

  • Official Stance on Release Pace: OpenAI leadership, including Pachocki and President Greg Brockman, confirmed that the pace of model releases is expected to increase, characterizing GPT-5.5 as a 'beginning point' for a new class of intelligence.

  • The <60 Day Release Window: While OpenAI has not officially promised a new model every 60 days, the company confirmed 'rapid continued progress' and released GPT-5.5 approximately one month after GPT-5.4, making the 60-day estimate consistent with current trends.

Confidence

High