Familiar Face, Different Times? When 19-Year-Old Sam Altman Pitched His First Startup 'Loopt'

(MENAFN- Live Mint) An old video of a familiar face from the early 2000s went viral on social media platforms, showing how the present big tech company OpenAI Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Sam Altman, pitched his very first startup idea of a location-sharing application called 'Loopt'.

Also Read | Sam Altman plans to visit India next month as OpenAI plans Delhi office

The old video of Sam Altman was recently reshared by the Instagram account named @artificialintelligencenews, which sparked social media reactions from the netizens on Altman's 'neon polo shirt' and how far the tech titan has grown over the years.

What did Sam Altman pitch?

Wearing his neon pink coloured, fluorescent green collared t-shirt, young Sam Altman was pitching his very first startup idea of a location-sharing application called 'Loopt.'

Altman explained how Loopt's interface lets users see the location of their friends and known personnel on a real-time basis.

Also Read | OpenAI confirms plans to open first office in Delhi; Sam Altman says 'India...'

“We show you where people are, what they're doing, and what cool places are around you. We make serendipity happen,” Altman explains in the social media video.

In the video, he also explained multiple scenarios to help viewers better understand how the mobile application works. Digital maps help pinpoint people, friends, activities, and even their photo journals.

“Bro was built different,” said a social media user named @dreamcarver responding to the resared video on Instagram.

Sam Altman's OpenAI expansion

Mint reported earlier that OpenAI chief Sam Altman is planning to visit India next month (September 2025) as the tech giant plans to open its first India office in Delhi, according to a social media post on X.

Also Read | Sam Altman admits China's DeepSeek forced OpenAI's hand on open models

“We are opening our first office in India later this year! And I'm looking forward to visiting next month,” said Sam Altman in his post.

Altman also disclosed that OpenAI's flagship AI product, ChatGPT , has witnessed a 4x rise in its user base over the last year in India, and that is one of the reasons the company is 'excited' to expand its operations in India.

“AI adoption in India has been amazing to watch - ChatGPT users grew 4x in the past year--and we are excited to invest much more in India!” said Altman.

According to the news portal, Forbes, OpenAI is soon set to become the world's most valuable company and is expected to reach a $500 billion valuation after its $6 billion planned stake sale.

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