OpenAI Brings on Twitter Alternative Co-Founder Gabor Cselle for New Project

Gabor Cselle, co-founder of the Twitter alternative Pebble, has joined OpenAI to work on a currently undisclosed project. Although Cselle started at OpenAI in October, he only recently shared the update in a post on X (formerly Twitter), where he expressed excitement about the learning opportunities at OpenAI and hinted at future updates about his work.

Cselle, a serial entrepreneur, previously founded two startups, both of which were acquired. His first, reMail, a Y Combinator-supported mobile email startup, was acquired by Google, and his second, native advertising company Namo Media, was purchased by Twitter prior to Elon Musk's acquisition and rebranding of the platform. Cselle also spent time at Twitter as a product manager focused on user experience and later served as a director at Google’s Area 120, where he supported early-stage experimental projects.

In 2022, Cselle co-founded Pebble with Michael Greer, previously head of engineering at Discord. Initially called T2, Pebble was designed as a safer and more moderated social platform and built a loyal user base, attracting investments from tech figures like Android co-founder Rich Miner. Although Pebble eventually closed last October due to growth challenges, it relaunched as a Mastodon instance, continuing its community-focused mission.

Cselle joined the accelerator South Park Commons earlier this year, experimenting with generative AI prototypes, including a tribute to the HQ Trivia phenomenon. His recent hiring announcement comes as OpenAI competitor Anthropic also secured a high-profile addition: Alex Rodrigues, the founder of autonomous trucking firm Embark, who will be joining Anthropic as an AI safety researcher.