The release of GPT-5.2 "Thinking" and the new ChatGPT Pro tier ($200/mo) marks the definitive shift from "AI as a Chatbot" to "AI as a Senior Associate." While the just-launched ChatGPT Go ($8/mo) targets the mass consumer, the real story for founders is the bifurcation of intelligence: "Instant" models for drafting and "Thinking" models for complex, multi-step reasoning that rivals human experts in finance and engineering.
For founders, the OpenAI Platform is no longer just a productivity hack; it is an operating system for intelligence. The integration of Canvas for deep collaborative work and the new Operator capabilities means you can now offload end-to-end workflows—not just tasks—to the model. With the company now valued at $300B (following the massive Series F led by SoftBank), OpenAI is aggressively pricing "reasoning" as a premium utility. If you aren't paying for Pro, you are effectively competing with one hand tied behind your back.
