OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed that the company is currently losing money on its $200-per-month ChatGPT Pro plan, as users are utilizing it more than anticipated.
Altman, who personally set the price, had initially expected the plan to generate profit. Launched towards the end of last year, the ChatGPT Pro plan offers upgraded access to OpenAI’s o1 “reasoning” AI model.
It provides additional features, such as lifting rate limits on other tools like the Sora video generator.
Despite raising around $20 billion since its inception, OpenAI is still not profitable, projecting losses of about $5 billion on $3.7 billion in revenue last year.
The company’s high expenses, including staffing, office rent, and the cost of AI training infrastructure, have contributed to these losses, with ChatGPT costing an estimated $700,000 per day at one point.
OpenAI has admitted it requires more capital than initially expected and is undergoing a corporate restructuring to attract new investments.
To achieve profitability, OpenAI is contemplating raising the price of its subscription plans, with a revenue target of $100 billion by 2029, aiming to match the annual sales of companies like Nestlé.
