OpenAI’s ChatGPT Plan is Losing Money, Says CEO Sam Altman
In a surprising revelation, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has confirmed that the company’s most popular plan, ChatGPT Pro, is actually losing money. Despite costing users $200 per month, the plan offers near-unlimited access to OpenAI’s latest models and features, and its popularity appears to be the culprit of these losses.
In a recent tweet, Altman explained that “people use it much more than we expected”. The plan’s popularity has been unprecedented since its launch, with millions of users taking advantage of the AI-powered chatbot’s capabilities. However, this increased usage has resulted in significant revenue shortfalls for OpenAI.
Despite still struggling to remain profitable, OpenAI is committed to drumming up revenue through various methods, including hiking the prices of its most popular plans. The company is exploring new ways to monetize its technology and ensure its long-term sustainability.
Altman’s comments have raised questions about the financial viability of ChatGPT Pro and whether the company can sustainably generate revenue from the plan’s high usage. However, OpenAI remains optimistic about its future prospects and is working tirelessly to refine its technology and expand its offerings.
The revelation comes as OpenAI continues to face scrutiny over its AI-powered chatbots and their potential applications. The company has been working to address concerns around safety, ethics, and regulation, but the debate surrounding ChatGPT’s capabilities remains ongoing.
As the use of AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT continues to grow, companies like OpenAI will need to navigate complex issues around revenue generation, user safety, and regulatory frameworks. With Altman at the helm, OpenAI is well-positioned to address these challenges and ensure its technology remains a driving force in shaping the future of artificial intelligence.
References
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2. Futurism. (2025, January 8). OpenAI cuts off engineer who created ChatGPT-Powered Robotic Sentry Rifle. https://futurism.com/the-byte/openai-cuts-off-chatgpt-robot-rifle
3. Towards Data Science. (2025, January 11). Machine Learning + openAI: solving a text classification problem. https://towardsdatascience.com/machine-learning-how-i-solved-a-text-classification-problem-cddae9c025e7?gi=df5384b37fab
4. CIO Africa. (2025, January 6). Altman Says OpenAI’s Losing Money On ChatGPTPro Plan. https://cioafrica.co/altman-says-openais-losing-money-on-chatgptpro-plan/
5. Fortune. (2025, January 7). Sam Altman says he’s losing money on OpenAI’s $200-per-month subscriptions: ‘People use it much more than we expected’. https://fortune.com/2025/01/07/sam-altman-openai-chatgpt-pro-subscription-losing-money-tech/
6. AutoGPT. (2025, January 6). OpenAI Admits Losses on Its High-Priced ChatGPT Pro Tier. https://autogpt.net/openai-admits-losses-on-its-high-priced-chatgpt-pro-tier/
7. Tech.co. (2025, January 6). OpenAI Considers Hiking Prices As It Loses Money on ChatGPT Pro. https://tech.co/news/openai-considers-hiking-prices-chatgpt-pro
8. Bloomberg. (2025, January 5). Sam Altman on ChatGPT’s First Two Years, Elon Musk and AI Under Trump. https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2025-sam-altman-interview/
9. Ars Technica. (2025, January 10). Viral ChatGPT-powered sentry gun gets shut down by OpenAI. https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/01/viral-chatgpt-powered-sentry-gun-gets-shut-down-by-openai/
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