OpenAI expects revenue will triple to US$12.7 billion this year

[NEW YORK] OpenAI expects to more than triple its revenue this year to US$12.7 billion, fuelled by the strength of its paid artificial intelligence (AI) software, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The San Francisco-based company generated US$3.7 billion in annual revenue last year, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal communications. OpenAI expects revenue will continue growing at a fast clip, more than doubling next year to US$29.4 billion, the source said.

OpenAI declined to comment. The New York Times reported in September that OpenAI was eyeing revenue of US$11.6 billion for 2025.

In the two-plus years since OpenAI introduced its ChatGPT chatbot, the company has rolled out a range of subscription offerings for consumers and businesses. In September, OpenAI said it hit one million paid users for the corporate versions of ChatGPT. More recently, the company added a US$200 monthly ChatGPT Pro option, with access to its most advanced AI models. OpenAI is also mulling charging thousands of US dollars a month for certain AI products.

While revenue is soaring, OpenAI is also confronting significant costs from the chips, data centres and talent needed to develop cutting-edge AI systems. OpenAI does not expect to be cash-flow positive until 2029, the source said, a year when it projects revenue will top US$125 billion.

OpenAI is in talks to raise as much as US$40 billion in a funding round led by SoftBank Group at a valuation of up to US$300 billion, Bloomberg News reported in January. The company has also been in talks with regulators to restructure from a non-profit into a more conventional for-profit public benefit corporation. BLOOMBERG