OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says the company is currently losing money on its $200-a-month ChatGPT Pro plan because people are using it more than expected.
“I personally picked the prize,” Altman wrote in a series of posts on X, “and thought we’d make some money.”
OpenAI launched ChatGPT Pro late last year. In addition to giving access to an improved version of OpenAI’s “reasoning” AI model, o1 pro mode, ChatGPT Pro removes rate caps on some of the company’s other tools, including its Sora video generator.
OpenAI is not profitable, despite having raised around $20 billion since its founding. The company reportedly expected a loss of about $5 billion on revenue of $3.7 billion last year.
Expenses such as staffing, office rent and AI training infrastructure are to blame. ChatGPT was at one point costing OpenAI about $700,000 a day.
OpenAI recently admitted it needs “more capital than it imagined” as it prepares to undergo a corporate restructuring to attract new investment. To achieve profitability, OpenAI is said to be considering increasing the price of different subscription tiers; The company optimistically predicts that its revenue will reach $100 billion in 2029, matching Nestle’s current annual sales.
