OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has reportedly taken the company’s obsession with artificial intelligence to an unusually luxurious level: a set of seven bespoke Swiss watches featuring OpenAI branding and references to scaling, computing power and artificial general intelligence.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Altman commissioned the tiny collection from independent Swiss watchmaker Vanguart. The watches are based on the company’s high-end Orb model, with standard versions reportedly starting at around $180,000.
But these aren’t simply expensive watches with an OpenAI logo slapped onto the dial. The seven pieces were reportedly designed around the company’s technology and research culture, making them a rather unusual combination of haute horlogerie and AI symbolism.
Credits: India Today
OpenAI’s AI Philosophy, Built Into a Watch
The customisation reportedly goes far beyond conventional corporate merchandise.
The OpenAI logo appears on the dial, while several inscriptions reference ideas closely associated with the company’s approach to AI development.
One of the phrases reportedly featured on the watch is “COMPUTE IS DESTINY”, highlighting the enormous importance of computing resources in training increasingly powerful AI models.
Another reference is “SCALING”, a term deeply connected to the strategy of increasing model size, training data and computing power to improve AI capabilities.
The caseback takes the concept even further, carrying the inscription “if AGI.aligned: deploy().”
The message combines programming language with OpenAI’s long-term ambition of developing artificial general intelligence, or AGI, while emphasising the importance of alignment before such systems are deployed.
In other words, the watch isn’t just telling time. It is practically an AI research paper wrapped around a Swiss mechanical movement.
Seven Watches, Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars
The reported order consists of only seven watches, making it an extraordinarily limited production run.
Vanguart’s Orb is already positioned firmly in the luxury-watch market, with standard models reportedly beginning at around $180,000. That means the seven-piece OpenAI commission could represent a substantial investment even before accounting for the extensive bespoke work.
The final amount paid by Altman has not been disclosed.
Because the watches were individually customised, their ultimate cost could differ significantly from the starting price of the regular Orb. And unlike a normal corporate gift that can be produced in thousands of units, this project appears to have been treated as a highly specialised commission.
A Small Swiss Watchmaker Took on a Big AI Project
What makes the project even more unusual is the size of the watchmaker involved.
Vanguart has reportedly produced fewer than 200 watches in total and operates on a very different scale from major Swiss brands that manufacture thousands or hundreds of thousands of watches.
The company reportedly has just 33 employees. Yet around one-third of its workforce was involved in producing the seven OpenAI watches, according to the WSJ.
That means roughly 11 people at the independent watchmaker were reportedly involved in a project consisting of just seven pieces.
For a small manufacturer focused on limited and highly customised timepieces, the commission appears to have been a significant undertaking.
Altman Is Already a Serious Watch Collector
The unusual order also fits with Altman’s apparent interest in high-end mechanical watches.
The OpenAI chief has previously been seen wearing a Greubel Forsey timepiece reportedly valued at around $650,000. His interest in extremely expensive independent watchmakers has consequently attracted attention from luxury-watch enthusiasts and collectors.
The Vanguart commission therefore appears less like a random corporate purchase and more like a meeting of two of Altman’s interests: cutting-edge technology and ultra-exclusive mechanical watches.
OpenAI Has Done Corporate Watches Before
This isn’t the first time OpenAI has used luxury watches to mark its corporate culture.
The company previously commissioned customised Tudor watches featuring the phrase “Good Research Takes Time.”
The new Vanguart pieces, however, appear considerably more personalised. Instead of a relatively simple corporate message, the watches reportedly incorporate terminology directly connected to OpenAI’s technological ambitions.
That makes them closer to a private piece of company history than conventional employee merchandise.
Credits: The Times of India
You Probably Won’t Be Able to Buy One
If you’re already wondering where to purchase an OpenAI Orb, there is a catch: you probably can’t.
There is currently no OpenAI edition publicly listed in Vanguart’s catalogue. With only seven examples reportedly produced, the watches may remain private collector pieces rather than becoming a commercial product.
That exclusivity is part of what makes the commission fascinating.
Luxury watchmaking has always been built around scarcity, craftsmanship and personalisation. OpenAI’s world, meanwhile, revolves around software, algorithms, enormous data centres and rapidly changing technology.
The seven watches bring those two worlds together in a remarkably literal way.
Whether they eventually become collector’s items or simply remain an extravagant gift among OpenAI insiders, the watches offer a glimpse into how the company’s AI ambitions have become part of its broader identity.
And with phrases like “COMPUTE IS DESTINY” and “if AGI.aligned: deploy()” engraved into six-figure mechanical watches, Altman has certainly found one way to make sure OpenAI’s philosophy is never far from his wrist.
