Golpo Pioneers AI-Powered Explainer Videos with Unique RL Tech | OpenAI’s GPT-5 Quietly Debuts, 4o Returns for Users

Key Takeaways
- Golpo (YC S25) launched an innovative AI platform for whiteboard-style explainer videos, utilizing a novel reinforcement learning (RL) agent to generate clear, time-aligned graphics and narration.
- OpenAI’s next-generation LLM, GPT-5, has been confirmed in real-world application, powering Basis’ AI agents for accounting firms alongside o3, o3-Pro, and GPT-4.1.
- OpenAI reinstated GPT-4o as the default model for all paying ChatGPT users, addressing user frustration over the prior unannounced shift to GPT-5.
- Google’s Gemini received an update for limited chat personalization, allowing reference to historical chats, though still trailing competitors in comprehensive memory features.
Main Developments
The artificial intelligence landscape continues its rapid evolution, with today’s headlines showcasing advancements from niche content creation to enterprise-grade model deployments and user experience adjustments from leading players. A standout announcement comes from Golpo, a YC S25 startup, which has launched a groundbreaking AI generator for whiteboard-style explainer videos. Moving beyond the cinematic focus of many existing AI video tools, Golpo addresses a crucial gap in the market: the need for clear, instruction-focused visual content for onboarding, training, and education.
Founders Shraman and Shreyas Kar detail how their platform can transform any document or prompt into a comprehensive explainer video, complete with time-aligned graphics and spoken narration. Their journey to this solution was fraught with technical challenges; initial attempts using code-generation with Manim proved brittle and difficult to debug, while custom diffusion-based video models, similar to limitations seen in Sora and Veo 3, struggled with coherence beyond short clips and lacked the deterministic control essential for instructional content. Golpo’s breakthrough lies in its unique approach: training a reinforcement learning agent to “draw” whiteboard strokes step-by-step, optimized specifically for human-like and clear explanations. This innovative method not only delivers authentic and engaging results but also allows for post-generation customization of animations through natural language descriptions, and supports over 190 languages.
Meanwhile, the veil surrounding OpenAI’s much-anticipated next-generation models has begun to lift. Today’s news reveals that GPT-5 is already in active use, powering Basis’s AI agents for accounting firms. Built with a suite of OpenAI’s advanced models—o3, o3-Pro, GPT-4.1, and GPT-5—these agents are enabling accounting firms to cut down time by up to 30% and significantly expand their capacity for advisory services. This deployment marks a significant milestone, confirming the availability and enterprise readiness of GPT-5, albeit for specialized applications rather than a wide public release yet.
In a move addressing recent user concerns, OpenAI also announced the return of GPT-4o as the default model for all paying ChatGPT users. This decision comes after a period of user frustration following an unannounced shift to GPT-5, which some users found disruptive. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has pledged to provide “plenty of notice” should the model default change again, signalling a renewed focus on user experience and transparency in model transitions.
Finally, the competitive race in conversational AI continues, with Google Gemini introducing limited chat personalization features. The Gemini app, running on Gemini 2.5 Pro, can now reference all historical chats and offer new temporary chat sessions. While a step forward for Google, the summary notes that Gemini still trails competitors like Anthropic and OpenAI in more comprehensive memory features, indicating ongoing efforts to enhance user interaction and context retention across sessions. These developments collectively highlight a dynamic AI landscape, pushing boundaries from niche applications to core model capabilities and user-centric design.
Analyst’s View
Today’s news underlines the AI industry’s ongoing shift from generalized models to specialized, high-impact applications. Golpo’s success with an RL-powered explainer video platform is a clear signal that the next wave of AI innovation will come from deeply understanding specific use cases and crafting tailored solutions, rather than solely relying on brute-force large language models. The quiet deployment of GPT-5 in enterprise settings like Basis’s accounting solution is equally significant; it confirms that cutting-edge models are moving into production to solve high-value, albeit less ‘flashy,’ business problems. OpenAI’s pivot back to GPT-4o for default users, coupled with Altman’s promise of better communication, reveals the growing pains of managing user expectations alongside rapid model development. The challenge for AI leaders will be balancing relentless innovation with stability, trust, and a clear value proposition for end-users, while the market continues to diversify into highly specialized AI products.
Source Material
- OpenAI brings GPT-4o back as a default for all paying ChatGPT users, Altman promises ‘plenty of notice’ if it leaves again (VentureBeat AI)
- Scaling accounting capacity with OpenAI (OpenAI Blog)
- Launch HN: Golpo (YC S25) – AI-generated explainer videos (Hacker News (AI Search))
- Google adds limited chat personalization to Gemini, trails Anthropic and OpenAI in memory features (VentureBeat AI)
- Hidden Door is an AI storytelling game that actually makes sense (The Verge AI)