[Introduction] "Saying nothing, yet saying everything." Ilya ignited the internet with a depiction of "The Thinker" on a Die Shot.
Just now, Ilya, the most enigmatic spiritual leader in the AI community, posted a painting on Instagram.
In the image, Rodin's "The Thinker" stands on the edge of a cliff, gazing down at a microscopic universe woven from purple transistors and digital circuits.
That ocean is technically known as a Die Shot – the microscopic cross-section of a chip, a pure jungle of silicon transistors.
In the bottom right corner, a black signature reads: IS 2026.
And just like that, Silicon Valley exploded.
Saying Nothing, Yet Saying Everything
He had vanished for a long time.
This time, people began frantically interpreting the painting.
Does "IS" stand for his initials Ilya Sutskever, or does it imply something else? Is the figure contemplating on the chip suggesting he's holding something?
This kind of silent detonation is not Ilya's first time.
Many don't know that OpenAI's long-standing three-flower logo originated from a casual doodle he sketched on a hallway wall.
That unremarkable draft later became the face of the AI company with the highest valuation.
Now, in the same manner, he has forcefully pressed an ancient symbol of human philosophy onto the cold, hard substrate of a semiconductor.
Some say he's seeking a sense of the sacred.
Others say it's his silent mockery of the old path that "intelligence can be stacked by stacking computing power."
At the Same Time, OpenAI Insiders Can't Sit Still
This time, the frenzy isn't just employees lining up on X to shout "Feel the AGI."
Almost within the same week, OpenAI dropped three bombshells in succession:
First, mathematics.
OpenAI announced that one of its internal general-purpose reasoning models discovered a whole new family of geometric constructions, overturning a long-standing conjecture regarding the "planar unit distance problem."
OpenAI stated that its proof has been checked by external mathematicians, refreshing the understanding of AI held by Fields Medalist Tim Gowers.
Next, came Codex.
The Mac version of Codex introduced Appshots. Just press Command-Command, and the current application window can be directly handed over to a Codex thread.
It receives not just a screenshot, but also the text within the window, even content not visible off-screen.
Simultaneously, Codex upgraded its Goal Mode, built-in browser, and plugin capabilities.
More radically, the media noted:
Codex can now continue to call applications even when the Mac is locked, truly evolving from a "coding assistant" to an "on-site engineer."
What most excites Silicon Valley, however, is the IPO.
According to multiple media reports, OpenAI is collaborating with investment banks like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to prepare a confidential submission of IPO filing documents.
Relevant documents could be filed soon, coinciding with SpaceX's listing timeline.
Bloomberg, citing informed sources, reported that OpenAI aims to go public this fall, though the specific timing may still change.
When these three events are placed together, the implication is entirely different.
This is the core of the latest round of OpenAI-style frenzy: tearing open new frontiers in mathematics, having AI take over programmers' computers, and propelling itself towards what could be the most significant IPO window in AI history.
This is OpenAI signaling to the outside world: AGI is not a distant slogan, but a real variable that is simultaneously rewriting science, software, and capital markets.
Conclusion
Three events combined point to the same question: Is that door truly about to open?
Behind a casually drawn sketch lies the silent transistor base within the Die Shot – the boundary between human intelligence and the silicon-based world is becoming increasingly blurred.
Ilya is betting not on a feature, but on a paradigm shift.
And the internal OpenAI phrase "Feel the AGI" is the most genuine signal from the research frontlines – not marketing, but an inability to hold back any longer.
Our generation will most likely witness the answer with our own eyes.
References:
https://www.instagram.com/ilyasu2/
https://x.com/ns123abc/status/2058687603285586245?s=20
This article is from WeChat official account "New Zhiyuan", author: ASI Revelation
