Sam Altman says he tried semaglutide ‘before it was cool’ — and once ended up in a hospital

• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that he tried semaglutide “before it was cool” — and that it sent him to the hospital.
• Semaglutide is sold under brand names like Ozempic and Wegovy. Elon Musk has also said he tried it.
• “I now do basically nothing,” Altman told Tyler Cowen. “I eat junk food. I don’t exercise enough.”

Sam Altman leads a busy life. OpenAI is more valuable than ever. He’s a first-time father, and he has flown around the world to drum up support for an AI infrastructure build-out.

As a result, the OpenAI CEO said he’s been less focused on his personal health recently.

On the “Conversations with Tyler” podcast, host Tyler Cowen asked Altman for his “nuttiest view” about his health. The OpenAI CEO said that his level of health consciousness depended on his workload.

“When I was less busy, I was more disciplined on health-related stuff,” Altman said. “I kind of ate healthy. I didn’t drink that much. I worked out a lot.”

Altman also experimented: “I once ended up in a hospital for trying semaglutide before it was cool,” he said. Altman didn’t expand or explain the specific reason for the hospitalization, like dehydration or exhaustion.

Semaglutide, sold under brand names like Ozempic and Wegovy, is a GLP-1 drug prescribed for obesity and type 2 diabetes treatment.

A side effect of GLP-1 drugs is that they curb appetite, triggering weight loss. Many people report taking the drug off-label even if they do not have obesity or diabetes.

Altman isn’t alone. His friend-turned-foe Elon Musk, whom Altman has been taking jabs at on X for the last week, said in 2022 that he used Wegovy to get “fit, ripped, and healthy.”

George Arison, the CEO of Grindr, told Business Insider that he normally skips breakfast because he’s on Mounjaro — the brand name for a similar GLP-1 drug, tirzepatide.

It may not be the only diabetes medication Altman has tried. In 2023, the MIT Technology Review reported that Altman took metformin as part of his efforts to live a longer life. The pill is known to cause weight loss of 5 to 15 pounds, on average, and some scientists believe it can slow down aging.

Aging is a core focus for Altman, who also funds the longevity startup Retro Biosciences.

Altman has since lightened up on his personal health focus, though. “I now do basically nothing,” he said on the podcast.

“I eat junk food. I don’t exercise enough,” Altman said. “It’s like a pretty bad situation. I’m feeling bullied into taking this more seriously again.”

Altman’s love of junk food is also similar to Musk’s. He loved fast food chain Jack-in-the-Box, per his biography, and once said that he ate a doughnut every morning.

“I’d rather eat tasty food and live a shorter life,” Musk told Joe Rogan in 2020.

Cowen, Altman’s interviewer, didn’t seem to grasp the concept. “Why eat junk food?” he asked. “It doesn’t taste good.”

“It does taste good,” Altman responded.

“Compared to good sushi?” Cowen said. “You could afford good sushi.”

Altman has shared other aspects of his diet. In 2018, Altman wrote that he did 15-hour daily fasts. He’s also a vegetarian and would drink protein shakes to supplement his diet.

On junk food, Altman stood his ground.

“Sometimes late at night, you just really want that chocolate chip cookie at 11:30 at night, or at least I do,” Altman said.