OpenAI’s Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap revealed in an internal memo that ChatGPT has reached a significant milestone of 10 million paid subscribers, along with an additional 1 million users signed up for a higher-priced enterprise subscription plan. This information marks the first time OpenAI has disclosed such user statistics.
According to estimates based on these figures and OpenAI’s publicly available subscription prices, ChatGPT could be generating more than $225 million in monthly revenue, translating to an annual revenue potential of approximately $2.7 billion. Users predominantly utilize the platform for tasks such as coding, text writing and editing, and general research.
If OpenAI’s API services are included, the company could potentially achieve around $4 billion in revenue over the next year, a rise from an estimated $3.4 billion in annual revenue reported around June. OpenAI representatives declined to comment on these financial figures.
In March, OpenAI’s API services alone were reportedly generating $83 million per month, amounting to an estimated $1 billion annually. The majority of these sales came from financial technology companies like Stripe and Morgan Stanley, assisting them with fraud detection and automating customer service functions. Since then, this segment of the business has continued to grow.
Despite its rapid growth in subscribers and revenue, OpenAI faces substantial operational costs. The company currently provides free access to ChatGPT to millions while also developing new products, resulting in billions in annual losses.
To address these challenges, OpenAI is in negotiations to raise up to $7 billion in additional funding from investors, including a fund backed by the UAE. The company is also exploring a shift from its non-profit model to a more investor-friendly profit-oriented structure.
With a proposed valuation of $150 billion, this funding round would value OpenAI at approximately 37.5 times its projected future revenues, which is relatively low compared to other AI developers but nearly double that of Nvidia, a leader in AI chip design. However, this valuation metric does not account for OpenAI’s significant cash burn, although its rapid revenue growth may mitigate concerns regarding this issue.
To access OpenAI’s advanced AI models through ChatGPT, individuals must pay a monthly fee of $20. For enterprise subscriptions, rates start at $25 per user per month, offering customizable models and AI-generated images. If additional features like analytics and enhanced customer support are included, subscription costs could exceed $50 monthly.
The usage of ChatGPT is expected to see a sharp increase, especially as Apple begins directing complex queries that Siri cannot handle to the AI chatbot. Recently, OpenAI has launched the highly anticipated “Strawberry” reasoning AI model, o1-preview, which will initially be available to paid subscribers and may drive further engagement with ChatGPT.
Rising operational costs are prompting OpenAI to consider new revenue avenues. CEO Sam Altman has previously indicated a reluctance to pursue advertising; however, earlier this year, the company hired a seasoned Google search advertising executive.
The way people are using ChatGPT resembles their experience with traditional search engines like Google, which rely on advertising for revenue. OpenAI is also in the process of developing a search engine capable of answering queries that require visual recognition and provide information related to local living and shopping. A small group of users is currently testing this service.