OpenAI: 1.2 billion weekly users, ARR nearing $70 billion

OpenAI announces that ChatGPT has over 1.2 billion users each week and states that 2.5 million businesses are using its solution. The company aims for an annualized revenue of around $70 billion, representing an increase of about 70% since the beginning of the third quarter, while Anthropic reportedly surpassed $65 billion in July and plans to go public as early as November. Competition is intensifying, while uncertainties remain regarding the ability of revenues to cover data center expenses.

Massive Usage and Infrastructure Cost Concerns

OpenAI recently shared usage figures during DevDay: ChatGPT has over 1.2 billion weekly users, ChatGPT Work and Codex together total over 35 million weekly users, and 2.5 million businesses are using OpenAI products. Despite this massive audience, there remains uncertainty about the ability of revenues to cover the significant costs of data centers.

Annualized Revenues: OpenAI Rises, Anthropic Approaches

OpenAI is on track to reach an annualized revenue of $70 billion, marking an increase of about 70% since the beginning of the third quarter. This valuation is based on ARR, a metric that projects current monthly revenues over twelve months. For its part, Anthropic reportedly surpassed the $65 billion mark in July and may now be at the same level as OpenAI, if not exceeding it. Anthropic is also planning an IPO as early as November.

Aggressive Pricing and New Models as Growth Drivers

OpenAI's growth is driven by enterprise sales and an aggressive pricing strategy in response to Claude and Chinese models. This strategy has been bolstered by the recent launch of GPT-6.1-Sol. Additionally, the coding assistant Codex benefits from the popularity of the GPT-6 model family, which supports its strong growth.