"Last week, OpenAI said it would begin testing advertisements within its popular chatbot ChatGPT in the coming weeks, targeting adult users in the United States who use the free tier or the company's new $8-per-month ChatGPT Go subscription. Premium subscribers on the Plus ($20/month), Pro ($200/month), Business and Enterprise tiers will remain ad-free. This could be a watershed moment for generative AI as OpenAI becomes one of the first major AI companies to introduce advertising directly into a conversational chatbot."
"It also signals mounting financial pressure: despite reportedly exceeding an estimated $20 billion in annualized revenue by 2025, the company is burning through cash to fund its AI infrastructure ambitions. OpenAI projects will reach approximately $14 billion by 2026, with the company's cash burn rate remaining around 57% of revenue through 2027, according to financial documents reviewed by Fortune and The Information."
"The startup expects to burn through a cumulative $115 billion through 2029 before potentially turning cash flow positive in 2029 or 2030. These numbers are driven by the computing infrastructure needed to train and run AI models. OpenAI has outlined plans that could amount to as much as $1.4 trillion in AI infrastructure spending over the next eight years, partnering with cloud and chip giants to build the data centers necessary to support its technology."
OpenAI will test advertisements within ChatGPT for adult users in the United States on the free tier and the $8-per-month ChatGPT Go subscription, while Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise subscribers remain ad-free. The company reportedly exceeded an estimated $20 billion in annualized revenue by 2025 but is burning cash to support AI infrastructure. Financial documents project about $14 billion by 2026, a cash-burn rate near 57% through 2027, and a cumulative $115 billion burn through 2029, with potential positive cash flow in 2029–2030. Planned infrastructure spending could reach $1.4 trillion over eight years. Roughly 90% of ChatGPT's ~800 million weekly active users are on the free tier, making advertising a major monetization opportunity.
Read at Forbes
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