OpenAI Surpasses $2 Billion in Revenue This Year... Expenses Reach $7 Billion

The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 3rd (local time) that OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, has surpassed $2 billion (approximately 2.682 trillion KRW) in revenue.

Sources stated that OpenAI's annual revenue this year has already exceeded $2 billion.

OpenAI's annual revenue last year was $1.6 billion. Although there are four months left until the end of this year, it has already surpassed last year's revenue. OpenAI is targeting $3.4 billion in revenue for this year.

OpenAI's main revenue comes from the ChatGPT subscription service, which costs $20 per month. Additionally, in January, it launched a $20-per-month "AI version of the App Store."

Currently, ChatGPT's weekly active users (WAC) reach 200 million. This number doubled in nine months after surpassing 100 million in November last year.

However, the costs OpenAI incurs for AI technology development far exceed its revenue.

The NYT reported that although it is unclear how much OpenAI spends annually, estimates suggest it reaches $7 billion (approximately 9.387 trillion KRW). This is twice the revenue target for this year. Significant costs are required for developing new AI models, and the greatly increased employee salaries also account for a large portion of expenses. OpenAI's staff, which was around 300 people, now exceeds 1,700. Eighty percent joined after the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022.

Since 2019, OpenAI has received $13 billion in investments through a partnership with Microsoft (MS), and recently it has been seeking large-scale additional funding. This funding round is expected to include not only existing investor MS but also Apple and Nvidia.

The NYT, citing three sources, reported that OpenAI is considering more attractive corporate structure changes for investors as part of new funding discussions. OpenAI, which started as a nonprofit organization in 2015, currently operates a for-profit entity that developed ChatGPT under the governance of the nonprofit board. This structure prevents investors' opinions from being reflected in management.