Sam Altman admits he is ‘envious’ of Gen Z college dropouts

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says he envies the current generation of Gen Z college dropouts, calling their era “the best time ever” to build something new.

During an interview with Rowan Cheung at the "DevDay conference" earlier this week, Altman noted: “I’m envious of the current generation of 20-year-old dropouts.”

“The amount of stuff you can build… the opportunity space is so incredibly wide,” he said.

Notably, Altman, one of Silicon Valley’s most influential figures, dropped out of Stanford University in 2005 to cofound the location-sharing app Loopt, reflected on how his own early career mirrors the boldness of today’s young innovators.

Loopt, which secured over $30 million in funding from major firms like Sequoia Capital, was later acquired, setting Altman on a path that led him to lead Y Combinator and eventually cofound OpenAI in 2015 with Elon Musk and others.

Despite his monumental success, Altman confessed that the intense focus required for OpenAI leaves him little room for fresh ideas.

“The degree to which OpenAI is taking over all of my mental space, and I don’t get to think about how to build a new startup, is a little bit sad,” he admitted.

For those unversed, Altman joins Silicon Valley’s list of college dropout-turned-tech titans, including Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, Steve Jobs, Jack Dorsey, and Mark Zuckerberg.