OpenAI to Sponsor Driver Alex Palou at Mid-Ohio IndyCar Race

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was engaged in helping set up the pact with Ganassi Ganassi

OpenAI will run a primary paint scheme for the first time with Chip Ganassi Racing at this weekend’s NTT IndyCar Series Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, as the artificial intelligence company pushes deeper into motorsports. In late February, the S.F.-based AI research and services company announced it was getting into the team side of racing with Ganassi, which would use OpenAI’s software on and off the track. Now the sides are set to advertise the partnership in the most public form yet with this weekend’s race on Fox, with OpenAI opting for a mostly black, plain paint scheme on the No. 10 Honda driven by Indy 500 winner Alex Palou. Not wanting to give away any trade secrets with the emerging technology, owner Chip Ganassi was largely coy when asked this week about specific ways the team is using OpenAI’s products to try to improve its on track performance. But he did say: “It’s streamlining our work, it’s uncovering insights, helping us make decisions faster. ... I don’t know if we can draw a direct line between the win at the Indianapolis 500 with our OpenAI association, I don’t know there’s a direct line, but there’s certainly a dotted line, and those lines are getting closer and closer to a solid line as we learn. The whole thing about the partnership is ... the way they’re going to make their products better is to use it in real-life situations, and so that’s what we bring along to the party is a real-life, fast-paced, decision-making arena that only enhances the ability of their tools.” Ganassi mentioned that ChatGPT helped him write a speech recently, and that basically every department at the team is experimenting with AI tools.

Ganassi mentioned that ChatGPT helped him write a speech recently Ganassi

OPEN FOR EXPERIMENTATION: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and CGR EVP/Business Operations John Olguin were among those who helped set up the partnership. Rolling out the primary paint scheme at Mid-Ohio was more about availability than any specific activation plans taking place there this weekend, but the company may have a presence in a few weeks at the IndyCar event at Laguna Seca in Northern California, near OpenAI’s HQ. Through an email, OpenAI Head of Integrated Marketing Sarah Russell told SBJ that the deal “began with a shared curiosity about how advanced technology can support peak human performance.” She added: “At OpenAI, we look for real-world settings where AI can make a meaningful difference and move science forward. With Chip Ganassi Racing, we’re exploring how AI might sharpen decision-making, enhance strategy, and push the limits of what’s possible, on and off the track.” OpenAI is planning programming on its social media pages around this weekend’s paint scheme. Meanwhile, NASCAR Holdings is also working with OpenAI on a pilot project involving its employees getting access to products such as ChatGPT.