Sam Altman’s OpenAI Now Rakes In $1B Monthly, Thanks To Explosive ChatGPT User Growth: Report
The innovative AI startup OpenAI, led by Sam Altman, has reached a substantial revenue milestone, underscoring its dominant role in the technology sector. In the first seven months of the year, OpenAI nearly doubled its revenue, achieving an annualized run-rate of $12 billion. This impressive rate translates to a monthly revenue of $1 billion for the burgeoning enterprise.
The success is largely attributed to the widespread adoption of OpenAI’s popular product, the ChatGPT large language model (LLM), which now boasts around 700 million weekly active users. As OpenAI prepares to release the next iteration of its language model, GPT-5, the company’s growth trajectory continues to ascend.
In light of its rapid expansion, OpenAI has updated its cash burn estimate, projecting it will rise to an astounding $8 billion by 2025. This figure is a marked increase from a previous estimate of $1 billion, highlighting the fiscal demands accompanying the company’s growth.
Simultaneously, OpenAI is in the process of organizing a second significant funding round, targeting a $30 billion raise. Prominent private equity firms such as Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global have expressed their commitment to investing substantial sums in this latest round.
Despite these achievements, OpenAI is not without competition. Emerging rivals, like Chinese AI firm DeepSeek, are beginning to carve out their niche in the market. Additionally, a separate report notes the advancements of another Chinese startup, Manus, which is set to launch a new capability designed to handle tasks that may pose challenges to OpenAI’s current offerings.
Manus’s innovative feature, Wide Research, will enable users to efficiently process vast data entries through numerous AI agents. Scheduled for release as a high-end subscription service, this feature will be priced at $199 monthly and aims to provide functionality such as generating a diverse array of poster designs, ranking top global MBA programs, and conducting exhaustive stock analysis.
With these developments, both OpenAI and its competitors are vigorously pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence, striving to expand their market capabilities and meet the evolving demands of a data-driven world.