Exclusive: OpenAI's Secret Project ‘Strawberry’ Set to Revolutionize AI Reasoning
July 12 - OpenAI, the renowned creator of ChatGPT, is advancing its artificial intelligence capabilities with a groundbreaking project code-named “Strawberry,” according to a reliable source and internal documents reviewed by Reuters.
The Strawberry project, details of which were previously undisclosed, signifies a major step forward in AI reasoning. This development is crucial as OpenAI, backed by Microsoft, strives to demonstrate that its models can deliver sophisticated reasoning abilities.
A Secretive Project
Internal documents from OpenAI, dated May, reveal that Strawberry is a collaborative effort within the company, aimed at enhancing AI’s ability to perform advanced research autonomously. While the exact timeline for Strawberry’s public release remains uncertain, the source described the project as an ongoing effort.
Details on how Strawberry functions are closely guarded secrets within OpenAI. However, the project’s goal is clear: to enable AI not only to generate answers but also to plan ahead, navigate the internet autonomously, and perform what OpenAI calls “deep research.”
Breakthrough in AI Reasoning
The Strawberry initiative was previously known internally as Q*, a project already considered a breakthrough within the company. Earlier this year, OpenAI staff demonstrated Q*’s ability to answer complex science and math questions that current commercial models struggle with.
During a recent internal meeting, OpenAI showcased a project with new human-like reasoning skills, though it is unclear if this demonstration was related to Strawberry. OpenAI confirmed the meeting but withheld specific details.
Transformative Capabilities
Strawberry aims to revolutionize AI reasoning by processing models post-training on vast datasets. This approach promises to significantly enhance AI’s reasoning capabilities, enabling models to plan ahead, understand the physical world, and tackle multi-step problems reliably.
Improving reasoning is seen as a pivotal step towards achieving human or super-human-level AI intelligence. Current large language models can summarize dense texts and generate elegant prose quickly but often falter on common-sense problems, resulting in “hallucinations” or incorrect information.
AI Industry Implications
OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, has emphasized the importance of reasoning in AI development. Other tech giants like Google, Meta, and Microsoft, as well as academic labs, are also exploring ways to improve AI reasoning. However, there is debate within the AI community about whether large language models can incorporate long-term planning and reasoning.
The Future of AI Research
Strawberry represents a significant component of OpenAI’s strategy to address these challenges. The project involves post-training techniques, including fine-tuning, to refine AI performance. Strawberry’s methodology bears similarities to Stanford’s 2022 “Self-Taught Reasoner” (STaR), which allows AI models to iteratively create their own training data to achieve higher intelligence levels.
Among Strawberry’s ambitious goals is enabling AI to perform long-horizon tasks (LHT), which require extensive planning and execution over time. OpenAI is developing a “deep-research” dataset to train and evaluate these capabilities, though specifics remain undisclosed.
Additionally, OpenAI intends for its models to autonomously browse the web and conduct research using a “CUA” (computer-using agent) that can act on its findings. These advanced capabilities will also be tested for software and machine learning engineering tasks.
Strawberry is poised to be a transformative force in AI, pushing the boundaries of what these models can achieve and paving the way for future innovations in artificial intelligence.

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