OpenAI o3 claims top 200 global programming ranking at Informatics Olympiad
AI is rapidly getting better at programming, and now programmers are looking over their shoulders.
Key takeaways
- New research from OpenAI highlights the results of their reasoning models (o-series models) and how LLMs have evolved from amateur competitive programmers to competing with the world’s best.
- OpenAI’s latest AI model, o3, earned an impressive 2,724 rating on CodeForces, placing it in the 99.8th percentile.
- On CodeForces, it ranked among the top 200 programmers globally, competing with elite human coders.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2025) 'OpenAI o3 claims top 200 global programming ranking at Informatics Olympiad', 311 Institute, 26 February. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/openai-o3-claims-top-200-global-programming-ranking-at-informatics-olympiad/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
New research from OpenAI highlights the results of their reasoning models (o-series models) and how LLMs have evolved from amateur competitive programmers to competing with the world’s best.
OpenAI’s latest AI model, o3, earned an impressive 2,724 rating on CodeForces, placing it in the 99.8th percentile. It also secured a gold medal-level score at the 2024 International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI).
According to the research, o3 outperforms the o1-ioi model, which is specifically fine-tuned for IOI. This proves that reinforcement learning is more effective than hand-crafted approaches.
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At IOI 2024, o3 competed under standard conditions and crossed the gold medal threshold. On CodeForces, it ranked among the top 200 programmers globally, competing with elite human coders.
“General-purpose reasoning capabilities developed through reinforcement learning are now outperforming carefully hand-crafted, domain-specific solutions,” said Ethan Mollick, associate professor at The Wharton School. “Rather than building specialised systems for specific tasks, large, general-purpose models can achieve superior results through better reasoning abilities.”
The research is part of OpenAI’s ongoing efforts to assess its models’ performance in competitive programming and broader software engineering.
Anthropic, the company behind the Claude model series, also released a report on Monday which highlighted AI’s influence on the workplace.
The findings revealed that approximately 36% of all occupations incorporate AI for at least a quarter of their tasks. Moreover, 57% of AI applications enhance human capabilities, while 43% focus on automation. However, only 4% of occupations rely on AI for at least 75% of their tasks.
The study identified software development and technical writing as the primary areas where AI is utilised. In contrast, AI plays a minimal role in tasks that involve physical interaction with the environment.
FAQ
Why does this matter?
AI is rapidly getting better at programming, and now programmers are looking over their shoulders.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
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Sources and further reading
- 2502.06807 arxiv.org
- The anthropic economic index anthropic.com
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 26 February 2025. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2025). OpenAI o3 claims top 200 global programming ranking at Informatics Olympiad. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/openai-o3-claims-top-200-global-programming-ranking-at-informatics-olympiad/
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