We Interviewed Sam Altman at TreeHacks 2026

Key ideas

Altman recalls Stanford, Loopt, YC and OpenAI's early days, then tells student builders that AGI is near and that whole categories can be reinvented by small teams.

From YouTube’s automatic captions. Quotes link to the moment they are said.

1. 1

   Follow the highest rate of learning

   Altman says he didn't see dropping out as risky and advises working on whatever is most interesting, teaches the most and has the most impact, whether that's school, a startup or research. He says the default path has become relatively less good, and that YC replaced the old routine of business plans and MBAs.

2. 2

   OpenAI began as an unpopular bet

   Altman says OpenAI started on one idea, that scaling deep learning seemed to matter, while leaders in the field called it insane. He says he has always liked ideas that are big if they work, hard to make work, and unpopular, and that GPT-2 was when he became sure something important was happening.

3. 3

   Students will graduate into AGI

   Altman tells sophomores they will graduate into a world with AGI, says coding agents were the latest ChatGPT moment, and expects the same leap for all knowledge work. He thinks the near future will mostly feel like everything moving faster, and that people adapt more easily than it sounds.

4. 4

   Reimagine categories instead of bolting on AI

   Altman says nearly everything is up for a rethink, from social products to what a document is, and that adding AI to existing software misses the point. Because tiny teams can now build fast, he expects many one- to six-person startups to reach the impact of today's mid-sized companies.

5. 5

   Don't copy OpenAI; find what changed

   Altman says Google could have stopped OpenAI but had big-company problems, and he hopes someone in the room does the same to OpenAI by building something other than a copy of its products. He calls the heavy cash burn not serious, since spending a billion to make three is easy to fund.

In Sam’s words

Connected in lessons

• Where good startup ideas come fromCited in: Look where others won't

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