• Silicon Valley hasn't been this excited for an event since 2007.
  • OpenAI is set to kick off its first developer day as it prepares to unveil changes to ChatGPT.
  • The buzz among developers is reminiscent of the iPhone and App Store launches.

The AI developer community is so hyped for an upcoming keynote that it's giving Steve Jobs-launches-the-iPhone energy all over again.

ChatGPT developer OpenAI is kicking off its first developer conference in San Francisco on Monday, almost a year after releasing the chatbot publicly for free.

As with other tech firms' developer events, OpenAI is expected to announce big product updates. Predictions include the rollout of highly personalized chatbots, and a glossy ChatGPT makeover. Reports suggest cheaper versions of its large language models for developers too.

"Never seen so many developers excited and talking about what's coming out there since the original iPhone days," Nikunj Kothari, an angel investor and product lead at WiFi firm Meter, wrote on X.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been hyping the one-day event too, posting online about there being "real christmas eve energy" in the air right now.

In much the same way Apple changed tech forever by introducing the iPhone in 2007, and the App Store in 2008, developers anticipate the announcements could be as important as the internet.

OpenAI has shared little ahead of the event, other than the fact that it would bring together "developers from around the world to explore new tools and exchange ideas."

That hasn't stopped rumor-mongering and potential leaks by those paying attention.

OpenAI did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment about leaks of their event.

One predicted feature would allow people to create their own AI chatbot assistants specific to their needs.

Another rumor is that users creating these specialized bots could sell them in an Apple App Store-like experience.

Other rumored updates include cosmetic changes, such as a new look to ChatGPT, as well as features that connect the chatbot to third-party apps more seamlessly.

While the developer day could formalize a powerful ecosystem around OpenAI, it might also kill off the cottage industry of indie apps that has sprung up around ChatGPT.

A recent upgrade to ChatGPT now allows users to interact with PDFs through the chatbot, potentially wiping out several apps that offer the same feature as a paid add-on. Further upgrades could threaten other add-ons.

Yasser Elsaid, a founder who runs a startup called Chatbase, which helps people train ChatGPT with their own data, posted on X that OpenAI's event "is both exciting and scary" for him.

"Leaks show that they added a bunch of features to ChatGPT that compete with Chatbase," he wrote. "If that's the case, the obvious reaction would be to panic, and maybe I should."

Elsaid added that whatever OpenAI does will more likely "expand the market."

Ultimately, the App Store changed software development and became a major revenue spinner for Apple. Altman may have similar ambitions.