OpenAI Plans Aggressive Monthly Subscription Fee Increase... $44 After 5 Years

NYT Obtains Documents: "This Year's Revenue Expected to Reach 4 Trillion Won"
More Than Double Last Year... Exceeds OpenAI's Target
"ChatGPT Subscription at $20 per Month Is Main Revenue"
Revenue of $100 Billion Expected by 2029

OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, aims to significantly expand its revenue over the coming years.

The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 29th (local time) that, based on financial documents obtained exclusively, OpenAI expects to generate $3.7 billion (approximately 4.8 trillion KRW) in revenue this year. This is more than double last year's $1.6 billion and exceeds the $3.4 billion target OpenAI had set for this year.

In August alone, revenue reached $300 million, a 1700% increase compared to early 2023. According to the documents, OpenAI anticipates that next year’s revenue will surge to $11.6 billion, more than triple this year’s figure. Furthermore, it expects revenue to reach $100 billion by 2029. The NYT noted that this level is comparable to the annual revenue of the global company Nestl?.

OpenAI’s main source of revenue is the $20 monthly ChatGPT subscription service offered to individuals and businesses. In January, it also launched a $20 monthly "AI version of the App Store." Currently, ChatGPT’s weekly active users (WAC) have surpassed 200 million. This figure has doubled in nine months since surpassing 100 million in November last year. The number of paid subscribers is reported to be around 10 million. Additionally, more than 1 million developers use OpenAI technology to operate their own services.

The documents state that OpenAI plans to increase the subscription fee by $2 by the end of this year and aggressively raise it to $44 over the next five years. Although revenue is surging, the costs incurred to achieve this far exceed the revenue. According to an analysis by a financial expert who reviewed the documents, after paying for service operation costs, employee salaries, office rent, and other expenses, OpenAI is expected to incur a loss of about $5 billion this year. This estimate does not include stock-based compensation paid to employees, so costs could be even higher.

Significant expenses are being invested in developing new AI models, and labor costs for the greatly increased number of employees also constitute a large portion of the expenses. OpenAI’s staff, which numbered around 300, has grown to over 1,700, with 80% of that increase occurring since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022. OpenAI is currently raising $6.5 billion in funding. This round of funding, which includes participation from Apple, NVIDIA, and the UAE state-owned investment firm MGX, is expected to conclude next week.