OpenAI's Revenue Surge: ChatGPT Maker Projects Triple Growth Amid Fierce Competition

ChatGPT's subscribers and revenue soar in 2025 - here's why

OpenAI's furious pace of new features seems to be working as the company strains to keep up with unprecedented demand. Since OpenAI's ChatGPT triggered an AI arms race in 2022, most tech companies have released their own chatbots. Despite the highly saturated market, OpenAI has continually released features to keep its competitive edge -- a strategy that seems to be working. A new report from The Information found that ChatGPT's revenue soared in the past three months, with the company generating "at least $415 million per month," reflecting a 30% increase in revenue in only three months. According to the report, this growth can be attributed to a significant increase in subscribers, with the company adding 4.5 million paying subscribers since the end of 2024. Also: Adobe brings four highly-requested Premiere Pro AI features out of beta Over the last year, OpenAI has released several updates that make an OpenAI subscription more enticing. These include access to Sora, its state-of-the-art video generation model, and the screen-sharing and visual capabilities in ChatGPT's Advanced Voice Mode. , Both features were released in December and are limited to subscribers. Most recently, OpenAI unveiled its new image GPT-4o image-generation model, which boasts significant improvements over the DALL-E model that previously lived in the chatbot. Capabilities of the latest model include tackling difficult prompts, such as realistic people and, most impressively, accurate text. At launch, the GPT-4o image-generation model was announced to be available to all users, including free ones, but OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced a day later that the rollout to the free tier would now be "delayed for a while," only to make it available again to free users with a three-image-per-day cap a week later. As people rushed to try the viral image generator, Altman shared -- a couple of days after it was released -- that the company added one million users within an hour. This growth has posed its own challenges for the company. On Tuesday, Altman warned users via an X post to be patient as the company delays new releases, products break, and slow service ensues due to capacity challenges. Particularly, it seems the company is facing issues allocating the right amount of computing to power this growth and features, with Altman following up that post by calling out anyone who may have "GPU capacity in 100k chunks." Also: Intel's new CEO vows to run chipmaker 'as a startup, on day one' OpenAI has made clear that it has no plans to slow its momentum. The company's ultimate goal is to achieve Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), the term for AI with autonomous human-level intelligence. Until now, AGI has been a North Star for AI research, and it remains a distant concept. However, working toward such an ambitious goal has accelerated OpenAI's developments and helped it secure its lead among competitors such as Microsoft, which have taken a different approach.

OpenAI does not expect to be cash-flow positive until 2029, Bloomberg News reports

March 26 (Reuters) - OpenAI is not expecting its cash flow to turn positive until 2029, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the matter. The San Francisco-based artificial intelligence bellwether is grappling with significant costs from chips, data centers and talent needed to develop cutting-edge AI systems, according to the report. By 2029, OpenAI expects its revenue will surpass $125 billion. Fueled by the strength of its paid AI software, OpenAI forecast to more than triple its revenue to $12.7 billion in 2025, the report said. In September last year, Reuters reported that OpenAI was anticipating its revenue would surpass $11.6 billion in 2025, citing sources who were privy to the matter, adding that its revenue in 2024 would touch $3.7 billion, a figure corroborated by the Bloomberg report. In more than two years since OpenAI rolled out its ChatGPT chatbot, it has introduced a bevvy of subscription offerings for consumers and businesses. In February, its paying business users crossed 2 million, more than double the number from its last update in September. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reporting by Rishi Kant in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Suggested Topics:Artificial Intelligence

OpenAI thinks its revenue will more than triple in 2025, report says

Artificial intelligence giant OpenAI expects to see its revenue more than triple to hit $12.7 billion by the end of the year, Bloomberg reported, citing an undisclosed source familiar with the matter. OpenAI generated $3.7 billion in annual revenue last year, according to the source. The number was first reported last September by the New York Times, which also detailed that OpenAI expected to rack up roughly $5 billion in losses in 2024, and anticipated $11.6 billion in revenue in 2025. The company hit the $2 billion revenue mark in December 2023, seven years after its founding. According to the numbers reported on Wednesday, OpenAI seems to have revised its revenue expectations up on the strength of its AI software sales. OpenAI chief financial officer Sarah Friar told Bloomberg TV last October that the company's paid consumer subscriptions made up roughly 75% of its revenue at the time. The AI giant further expects revenue to continue soaring into 2026 as well, according to Bloomberg, more than doubling to $29.4 billion by the end of next year. But despite the rising revenue, OpenAI does not expect to be cash-flow positive until 2029 when projected revenue will top $125 billion, Bloomberg reported. OpenAI incurs significant costs in developing its AI systems, particularly stemming from expenditures related to chips, data centers, and talent, although the company doesn't publicly share finances. OpenAI didn't immediately respond to Quartz's request for comment on the matter. It's been a busy week for OpenAI. The company announced a broad leadership shakeup on Monday, which saw CEO Sam Altman shifting his focus specifically to research and products. And on Tuesday, the company unveiled a new ChatGPT update that integrated its latest image-generation technology into its GPT-4o model chatbots.

OpenAI Expects Its Revenue to Triple to $12.7 Billion This Year: Reports

ChatGPT maker OpenAI is set to more than triple its revenue this year, reaching $12.7 billion, as demand surges, Bloomberg reported. OpenAI, which made $3.7 billion last year, reportedly expects the revenue to more than double to $29.4 billion next year. Despite soaring revenue, OpenAI is grappling with high operational costs, including expensive AI chips, data centre expenses, and top-tier talent acquisition. Bloomberg also reported that OpenAI is close to finalising a $40 billion funding round led by SoftBank Group Corp, with investors Magnetar Capital, Coatue Management, Founders Fund and Altimeter Capital Management in talks to participate. At the same time, OpenAI is improving ChatGPT's capabilities. OpenAI on Tuesday announced GPT-4o's native image generation, allowing users to upload and edit images, with plans to expand it to all ChatGPT tiers. By Wednesday, the feature was available only to Pro, Plus, and Teams subscribers. CEO Sam Altman later said the rollout to free users was delayed due to unexpectedly high demand. The company also announced that it is adopting Anthropic's AI integration standard. Announcing the move on X, Altman said, "People love MCP, and we are excited to add support across our products." He added that it is currently available in the Agents SDK (software development kit), and support for the ChatGPT desktop app and responses API will come soon. MCP is an open-source standard introduced by Anthropic to enable AI assistants, like Claude, to interact with external tools, data sources, and applications. Essentially, MCP allows large language models (LLMs) to fetch, process, and use external data in a structured and standardised way. As Altman took to X to share more details on its MCP implementation in the coming months, Anthropic CPO Mike Krieger welcomed OpenAI's adoption, calling MCP a "thriving open standard" with thousands of integrations.

OpenAI expects to 3X revenue in 2025 but Chinese AI firms are heating up

OpenAI expects to more than triple its revenue this year to $12.7 billion, despite fast-growing competition from the likes of China's DeepSeek and other competitors making rapid progress. The ChatGPT creators also expect its revenue target for 2025 to more than double to $29.4 billion by 2026, Bloomberg reported on March 26, citing a person familiar with the matter. The 2025 estimate is a little higher than the $11.6 billion revenue target that OpenAI was reportedly eyeing for 2025, The New York Times reported last September. Bloomberg noted that the bulk of ChatGPT's revenue has come from its paid AI software subscription offerings for consumers and businesses. OpenAI reportedly hit 1 million paid users for the corporate versions of ChatGPT last September, while the company more recently added a $200 monthly ChatGPT Pro option. The Sam Altman-led firm does not expect to be cash-flow positive until 2029, when it expects its revenue to top $125 billion, the person told Bloomberg. Baidu Inc. launched its "Ernie X1" model to compete with DeepSeek's R-1 model in China, while Alibaba Group launched its new open-source AI model for cost-effective AI agents on March 26. Tencent Holdings also unveiled an AI chatbot of its own under subsidiary firm Ant Group Co, while DeepSeek released its latest model -- DeepSeek-V3-0324 -- on March 24. Related: Cathie Wood to kick off El Salvador's AI public education program While it remains to be seen how these Chinese models truly stack up against OpenAI's products, the newer and often cheaper options are putting more pressure on the business models of leading US companies, Balaji Srinivasan, a tech investor and former general partner at tech-focused venture capital firm Andreessen "a16z" Horowitz said in a March 22 X post. "China is trying to do to AI what they always do: study, copy, optimize, and then bankrupt everyone with low prices and enormous scale." Lee Kai-fu, CEO of Chinese startup 01.AI told Reuters on March 25 that DeepSeek's efforts have positioned Chinese AI firms only three months behind their US counterparts after previously being around six to nine months behind. Meanwhile, OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman said on Feb. 12 that his firm is looking to ship GPT-4.5 and GPT-5 in the coming weeks or months. Plus and Pro subscribers will be able to run GPT-5 at a "higher level of intelligence" which will incorporate voice, canvas, search, deep research features and more, he said in OpenAI's technical roadmap update. Among OpenAI's competitors in the US market are Anthropic, DeepMind, xAI and Google's Gemini.

OpenAI plans to triple revenue this year - Bloomberg By Investing.com

OpenAI, a leading artificial intelligence software company, is on track to significantly boost its revenue to $12.7 billion this year, a substantial increase from the $3.7 billion generated last year. It expects to more than double revenue next year to $29.4 billion. This projection comes from Bloomberg News, citing a source knowledgeable about the company's financials who chose to remain anonymous. The San Francisco-headquartered firm has experienced rapid growth since the introduction of its ChatGPT chatbot over two years ago. OpenAI's revenue surge is powered by its diverse subscription services tailored for both individual consumers and business clients. As of September, the company reported over 1 million paid users for its corporate versions of ChatGPT, and it has recently introduced a premium $200 monthly ChatGPT Pro option, offering access to its most sophisticated AI models. Additionally, OpenAI is considering pricing strategies that could involve charging thousands of dollars monthly for certain AI products. Despite the impressive revenue growth, OpenAI faces substantial operational expenses, including the costs of chips, data centers, and the recruitment of top-tier talent necessary for developing state-of-the-art AI technologies. The company does not anticipate achieving a positive cash flow until 2029, by which time it expects its revenue to exceed $125 billion.

OpenAI does not expect to be cash-flow positive until 2029, Bloomberg News reports

(Reuters) - OpenAI is not expecting its cash flow to turn positive until 2029, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the matter. The San Francisco-based artificial intelligence bellwether is grappling with significant costs from chips, data centers and talent needed to develop cutting-edge AI systems, according to the report. By 2029, OpenAI expects its revenue will surpass $125 billion. Fueled by the strength of its paid AI software, OpenAI forecast to more than triple its revenue to $12.7 billion in 2025, the report said. In September last year, Reuters reported that OpenAI was anticipating its revenue would surpass $11.6 billion in 2025, citing sources who were privy to the matter, adding that its revenue in 2024 would touch $3.7 billion, a figure corroborated by the Bloomberg report. In more than two years since OpenAI rolled out its ChatGPT chatbot, it has introduced a bevvy of subscription offerings for consumers and businesses. In February, its paying business users crossed 2 million, more than double the number from its last update in September. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. (Reporting by Rishi Kant in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)