33% Increase in Users in Just Two Months
Despite the emergence of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, the number of OpenAI's ChatGPT users has surged.
On the 20th (local time), Brad Lightcap, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of OpenAI, stated in an interview with the U.S. financial media CNBC that "as of February, the weekly active users (WAU) of ChatGPT have reached 400 million." This represents a 33% increase in just two months from 300 million in December last year.
Lightcap COO explained, "People are hearing about it through word of mouth and seeing those around them use it, confirming its usefulness," adding that users feel the utility and necessity of ChatGPT and are witnessing its actual effectiveness.
Not only individual customers but also corporate clients have significantly increased. Currently, the number of paid corporate users is 2 million, doubling compared to September last year, Lightcap COO revealed. Major clients include ride-sharing company Uber, global investment bank Morgan Stanley, pharmaceutical company Moderna, and telecommunications company T-Mobile.
Lightcap COO said, "Users who have personally used ChatGPT are suggesting to their companies to use this tool." He also emphasized that developer traffic has doubled over the past six months, with the inference model 'o3' increasing fivefold.
He explained, "The consumer market can immediately use AI tools or services according to personal needs, so new technologies are spreading rapidly. In the case of companies, they are in the building phase (laying the foundation for technology adoption)."
This surge in ChatGPT users came amid DeepSeek's models making a strong impact on the global tech industry. DeepSeek's recently released AI models V3 and R1 attracted attention by delivering superior performance to OpenAI's models in some tests, despite having development costs less than one-tenth of those of major U.S. tech companies. Last month, the DeepSeek model app even pushed ChatGPT out of the top spot in the Apple App Store's free app download rankings.
In response, Lightcap COO stated that competition with DeepSeek has not changed OpenAI's strategy, product development, or large-scale investment plans, and evaluated, "DeepSeek's case shows how AI is being recognized by the public."
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