OpenAI shifts 2026 strategy to practical adoption as revenue soars to $20 billion

OpenAI's 2026 'focus' is 'practical adoption'

OpenAI plans to focus on "practical adoption" of AI in 2026, according to a blog post from CFO Sarah Friar. As the company spends a huge amount of money on infrastructure, OpenAI is working on "closing the gap" on what AI can do and how people actually use it. "The opportunity is large and immediate, especially in health, science, and enterprise, where better intelligence translates directly into better outcomes." Much of the blog post, titled "A business that scales with the value of intelligence," is about how OpenAI has evolved since it launched ChatGPT and how it has scaled up its business. The company's weekly active user and daily active user metrics "continue to produce all-time highs," thanks to a "flywheel" across "compute, frontier research, products, and monetization," according to Friar. However, the company is also investing a lot on infrastructure, having made about $1.4 trillion in infrastructure commitments as of November of last year. OpenAI announced last week that it will be bringing ads to the platform soon and launched the cheaper ChatGPT Go subscription worldwide. Where OpenAI's business model goes next will "extend beyond what we already sell," Friar says: As intelligence moves into scientific research, drug discovery, energy systems, and financial modeling, new economic models will emerge. Licensing, IP-based agreements, and outcome-based pricing will share in the value created. That is how the internet evolved. Intelligence will follow the same path. This system requires discipline. Securing world-class compute requires commitments made years in advance, and growth does not move in a perfectly smooth line. At times, capacity leads usage. At other times, usage leads capacity. We manage that by keeping the balance sheet light, partnering rather than owning, and structuring contracts with flexibility across providers and hardware types. Capital is committed in tranches against real demand signals. That lets us lean forward when growth is there without locking in more of the future than the market has earned. Perhaps some of the "practical adoption" for ChatGPT could come in the form of the hardware devices OpenAI is building in partnership with Jony Ive, with the first device potentially being shown off later this year.

OpenAI to focus on 'practical adoption' in 2026, says finance chief Sarah Friar

OpenAI will make 2026 its year of "practical adoption," the artificial intelligence startup's finance chief said in a blog Sunday. "The priority is closing the gap between what AI now makes possible and how people, companies, and countries are using it day to day," OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar wrote. "The opportunity is large and immediate, especially in health, science, and enterprise, where better intelligence translates directly into better outcomes." In the blog, Friar laid out how OpenAI views its strategy for driving monetization of its services, like ChatGPT, while securing the compute necessary to power those products, saying that the AI lab's revenue directly tracks with the availability of its technical infrastructure. OpenAI's compute grew from 0.2 gigawatts in 2023 to about 1.9 GW in 2025, while the company's annual revenue run rate grew similarly from $2 billion in 2023 to more than $20 billion last year, Friar said. "This is never-before-seen growth at such scale," she wrote. "And we firmly believe that more compute in these periods would have led to faster customer adoption and monetization." Friar's blog comes as OpenAI and the tech industry's focus on AI comes under scrutiny for the massive investments necessary to build out the data centers and secure the energy and components required to power this cutting-edge technology that has yet to deliver much revenue returns for investors. Among those key deals is an agreement between OpenAI and AI chipmaker Nvidia announced in September. Under that agreement, Nvidia said it would commit $100 billion to support the AI startup as it builds and deploys at least 10 GW of Nvidia's systems. A gigawatt is a measure of power, and 10 GW is roughly equivalent to the annual power consumption of 8 million U.S. households, according to a CNBC analysis of data from the Energy Information Administration. But in November, Nvidia told investors there was "no assurance" that its agreement with OpenAI would progress beyond an announcement and to an official contract stage. "Securing world-class compute requires commitments made years in advance, and growth does not move in a perfectly smooth line," wrote Friar, adding that the system requires discipline. Three years ago, OpenAI relied on a single compute provider, but now it works with a diversified ecosystem, Friar said. "We can plan, finance, and deploy capacity with confidence in a market where access to compute defines who can scale," she wrote. OpenAI's business model should scale with its services, Friar said. "As intelligence moves into scientific research, drug discovery, energy systems, and financial modeling, new economic models will emerge," she wrote. The blog comes after OpenAI last week said that it planned to begin testing ads for some ChatGPT users in the U.S. That move comes as OpenAI gears up for a potential public debut this year. "Monetization should feel native to the experience," Friar wrote. "If it does not add value, it does not belong."

OpenAI targets "practical adoption" for 2026 strategy

OpenAI will prioritize the "practical adoption" of artificial intelligence in 2026, according to CFO Sarah Friar. The company reported more than $20 billion in annualized revenue in 2025. Friar stated in a recent blog post that closing the gap between AI capabilities and daily usage by individuals, companies, and countries is a priority. She identified health, science, and enterprise as immediate and significant opportunities where improved intelligence directly translates to better outcomes. Business spending on OpenAI models reached a record high in December, surpassing competitors Anthropic and Google, according to data from Ramp. OpenAI has announced approximately $1.4 trillion in infrastructure deals, including data centers, over the past year. OpenAI recently announced it would begin testing advertising, a move CEO Sam Altman previously described as a "last resort." Friar addressed financial concerns, stating that revenue growth has synchronized with compute availability. Compute expanded from 0.2 gigawatts in 2023 to about 1.9 GW last year, while annualized revenue grew from $2 billion to more than $20 billion during the same period. Friar asserted that more compute would have led to faster customer adoption and monetization.

OpenAI is banking on 2026 to accelerate real-world AI adoption

OpenAI aims to make 2026 "the year of practical adoption" of artificial intelligence, its Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar said in a blog post published on Sunday. The stated aim is to bridge the gap between current technological capabilities and day-to-day use in key sectors such as healthcare, science and business. Friar said AI's impact on productivity and tangible outcomes in those areas is "immediate and substantial". The company highlighted the rapid growth of services such as ChatGPT, which lifted annual revenue from $2bn to over $20bn between 2023 and 2025. That rise was matched by a massive ramp-up in computing resources, from 0.2 GW to 1.9 GW. Friar stressed that greater access to compute could have enabled even faster adoption, while noting that planning such resources requires multi-year commitments. As AI investment raises questions about economic and energy sustainability, OpenAI pointed to the diversification of its compute-supplier ecosystem after relying on a single provider in 2023. In particular, the company cited a strategic agreement with Nvidia worth $100bn, though it has not yet resulted in a formal contract. The post also comes shortly after the launch of advertising tests in ChatGPT and as OpenAI prepares for a possible initial public offering. Friar said monetisation would be retained only if it delivers clear value for users.

OpenAI to prioritise practical adoption of AI in 2026, CFO says

"The opportunity is large and immediate, especially in health, science, and enterprise, where better intelligence translates directly into better outcomes," she added. OpenAI plans to focus on "practical adoption" of AI in 2026, according to the company's chief financial officer, Sarah Friar. The company wants to make sure that the fast progress in AI technology is matched by how widely it is used by people, businesses, and governments in everyday life. In a recent blog post, Friar explained that the main goal is to help users turn new AI abilities into daily tools. "The priority is closing the gap between what AI now makes possible and how people, companies, and countries are using it day to day," she wrote. She added that the need for this is especially clear in areas like healthcare, science, and business, where AI can directly improve results. "The opportunity is large and immediate, especially in health, science, and enterprise, where better intelligence translates directly into better outcomes," Friar said. Also read: OpenAI on track to unveil its first device in 2026: What to expect There are already signs that OpenAI is benefiting from this push, reports Business Insider. Data from Ramp, a company that tracks business spending, shows that companies spent more on OpenAI's AI models in December than ever before. This spending growth was faster than that seen by competitors such as Anthropic and Google. However, not everyone is fully confident about OpenAI's financial future. Some investors and analysts worry about the company's very large spending plans. Over the past year, OpenAI has announced about $1.4 trillion worth of infrastructure deals, mainly linked to building and running data centers. These deals are needed to power advanced AI systems, but they also come with huge costs. To bring in more money, OpenAI is now looking at new revenue options. One of these is advertising, which the company said it would begin testing. In the past, CEO Sam Altman described ads as a "last resort," but many expected this step sooner or later. Also read: JioHotstar Super and Premium plans to get costlier from January 28: Check new prices Friar responded to concerns about money by pointing to the company's rapid growth. She said revenue has increased alongside computing power. OpenAI's available compute rose from 0.2 gigawatts in 2023 to about 1.9 gigawatts last year. During the same time, annual revenue jumped from $2 billion to more than $20 billion, according to the report. This represents "never-before-seen growth at such scale," Friar wrote. She added, "And we firmly believe that more compute in these periods would have led to faster customer adoption and monetisation."