Is OpenAI really interested in acquiring Pinterest? An acquisition that could redefine the way we search online

The origin of the news

2026 has started less than a month ago and, in the tech world, the first major - alleged - piece of news destined to spark widespread discussion has already arrived: according to The Information, OpenAI could acquire Pinterest. This is not just any rumor, but a true potential tsunami that would ripple across the entire web. Just a few hours after the report was published, Pinterest’s stock recorded a 3% jump on the market, a sign that investors consider the hypothesis far from far-fetched. If confirmed, the deal would represent the largest acquisition in OpenAI’s history, an epoch-making turning point in how we conceive artificial intelligence applied to digital consumption.

How much are Pinterest and OpenAI worth?

To understand the scale of this potential operation, we need to start with the numbers. Pinterest currently boasts around 570 million monthly active users globally, with 10% year-over-year growth according to first-quarter 2025 data reported by Sprout Social. The platform generates more than $4 billion in annual advertising revenue, with a net margin of nearly 50% and a gross margin approaching 80%, as highlighted by AInvest. With a share price around $25, its market capitalization stands at approximately $17.5 billion.

On the other side of the negotiation, OpenAI presents itself as an unprecedented financial powerhouse in the tech sector. The company reached $13 billion in revenue in 2025, counts 800 million weekly active users, and one million business customers. In April 2025, OpenAI raised $40 billion in a funding round that valued the company at $300 billion, while in October 2025 a secondary sale of employee shares pushed the valuation to $500 billion, effectively making it the most valuable private company in the world.

Why would OpenAI want Pinterest?

So what does an artificial intelligence research lab have to do with a visual inspiration platform? At first glance, the pairing might seem odd, but it isn’t. Pinterest is not just a social network, but a visual search engine disguised as a social platform. Users create boards where they save images, recipes, outfits, and home ideas, an activity that generates a wealth of data that is impossible to replicate and far too valuable for an AI. According to a recent analysis, Pinterest hosts over 200 billion images, each tagged with user intent. When someone saves a shoe to a wishlist, they are communicating a very precise purchasing intention.

This is precisely what OpenAI lacks: when you ask ChatGPT to find a product starting from an image, the response is more verbose and slower, without direct links. Pinterest, by contrast, delivers visual results in just a few seconds, allowing users to scan dozens of options at a glance. The difference is not only technological, but conceptual. ChatGPT was designed to answer, Pinterest to inspire and convert, which is why together they could truly represent the future of marketing.

Gen Z’s response

Then there is the demographic factor to consider. Gen Z represents 42% of Pinterest’s user base, a demographic segment showing usage growth rates of 18–20% year over year. 85% of Pinterest’s weekly users have made purchases based on pins they viewed, and the platform’s return on ad spend is 32% higher than that of other digital platforms. That said, it must also be noted that Gen Z is the generation that most fears the invasion of AI across its favorite platforms, as highlighted by the viral TikTok from creator @irelyn.may, in which she expresses concern about the potential acquisition.

How could the collaboration take place?

The integration could in fact take different forms: Pinterest as an app within ChatGPT; ChatGPT embedded into the Pinterest app to add conversational search; or the most radical scenario in which OpenAI absorbs Pinterest’s entire stock and operates it without retaining the brand. The challenge, in any case, will be to preserve the authenticity that makes Pinterest so valuable while avoiding what is known in the industry as AI slop, meaning feeds overrun by artificially generated content.

Neither OpenAI nor Pinterest has yet commented on the news of the likely acquisition. But the signal is now clear: OpenAI no longer wants to be just a language lab, but a complex ecosystem that includes advertising and commerce, capable of competing with giants such as Google, Meta, and Amazon. A cultural challenge more than a technological one, whose outcome could define the face of the web for the next decade.

Takeaways

- OpenAI could acquire Pinterest, according to The Information, in what would be the largest deal in its history.

- Pinterest is worth around $17.5 billion and has 570 million monthly active users, while OpenAI has become a powerhouse valued at $500 billion.

- Pinterest is a visual search engine, extremely rich in data based on purchase intent, a strategic asset that ChatGPT currently lacks.

- The integration of AI and visual search could revolutionize marketing and shopping, combining conversational answers with visually driven inspiration focused on conversion.

- Gen Z is central but skeptical, attracted by Pinterest’s commercial potential but also the most concerned about the invasion of AI into the platforms they love