"Last December, the company's CFO Sarah Friar made it publicly clear: OpenAI had "no active plans to pursue advertising", but the team was open to exploring new revenue streams, she told the Financial Times. That was a huge step on from the initial venom expressed towards advertising by CEO Sam Altman. He'd previously publicly said he hated advertising "as an aesthetic choice" and referred to it as a "last resort" for the company."
"At that time Friar made this 180 shift, OpenAI had reported an annualised revenue of about $4 billion, but also had an annual expected cash burn (minus spend revenue) of $5 billion, according to the Financial Times. Simply put, as much as Altman hated the idea of it, the team had to at least begin to reconsider their stance. The tech they build and run is a costly effort, and one that requires a consistent, stable revenue stream."
"April 2025: Great expectations Just four months on, internal documents forecasting "free user monetization" (also known as advertising) were leaked. OpenAI optimistically projected it could bring in $1 billion in 2026, and $25 billion by 2029. For context, Amazon - now the third largest digital advertising company on the planet - generated $56 billion in ad revenue last year, but it's able to sell commercials against the NBA, The Rings of Power and its vast commerce data reservoir."
OpenAI is shifting toward advertising as a revenue strategy, evidenced by executive hints, industry hires, high cash burn, and the launch of a browser. In December 2024 the CFO said OpenAI had "no active plans to pursue advertising" but was open to new revenue streams. CEO Sam Altman previously criticized advertising as "an aesthetic choice" and a "last resort," calling "ads-plus-AI... uniquely unsettling." At that time OpenAI reported about $4 billion annualized revenue and an expected $5 billion annual cash burn. Leaked April 2025 documents forecast "free user monetization" could yield $1 billion in 2026 and $25 billion by 2029, compared to Amazon's $56 billion ad revenue.
Read at Digiday
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