OpenAl, the leading artificial intelligence research and development company, is currently facing financial headwinds despite the success of its premium subscription service, ChatGPT Pro.
CEO Sam Altman recently revealed on X that the company is currently losing money on ChatGPT Pro subscriptions due to higher-than-expected usage by subscribers. This unexpected outcome has forced OpenAl to re-evaluate its pricing strategy and explore potential adjustments to its subscription tiers.
Expressing his concern, Altman wrote on X,
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“Insane thing: we are currently losing money on openai pro subscriptions! People use it much more than we expected”.
Responding to his claim, an X user pointed out to him that he knew the pro plan would not yield so much. In response to the user, Altman disclosed that he thought the pro subscriptions will generate more money for the company.
He wrote, “no, i personally chose the price and thought we would make some money”.
Launched in late 2023, ChatGPT Pro provides users with access to an advanced version of OpenAl’s 01 reasoning Al model, its 01 pro mode, and removes rate limits on other tools, including the Sora video generator. Despite its popularity, the subscription model hasn’t been enough to offset the company’s expenses.
OpenAl, which has raised around $20 billion since its inception, remains unprofitable. Reports suggest that the company incurred losses of approximately $5 billion on revenue of $3.7 billion in 2024. Operational expenses, including staffing, office space, and the immense costs of Al training infrastructure, contribute to this financial strain. At one point, ChatGPT alone was costing OpenAl an estimated $700,000 daily.
To address these challenges, OpenAl has acknowledged a need for “more capital than it imagined” and is planning a corporate restructuring to attract additional investments.
Notably, Sam Altman in his personal blog noted that the company is turning its attention to super-intelligence.
In his words,
“We love our current products, but we are here for the glorious future. Superintelligent tools could massively accelerate scientific discovery and innovation well beyond what we are capable of doing on our own, and in turn massively increase abundance and prosperity.”
By 2025, he disclosed that he expects to see the first Al agents enter the workforce, fundamentally reshaping productivity and economic output. Beyond AGI, OpenAI is now turning our sights to true superintelligence, a future where Al accelerates scientific discovery, innovation, and global prosperity to unimaginable heights.
Future Plans to Reach Profitability
In a bid to stabilize its finances, OpenAl is reportedly exploring price hikes across its subscription tiers. The company remains optimistic, projecting that its annual revenue could reach $100 billion by 2029.
While OpenAl’s tools continue to gain traction globally, its financial trajectory underscores the challenges of sustaining innovation and growth in the Al industry.