OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed that the company is losing money on its $200-per-month ChatGPT Pro plan because users are consuming more resources than anticipated. In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), Altman said, “I personally chose the price and thought we would make some money.”
ChatGPT Pro, introduced in late 2022, provides users with enhanced capabilities, including access to OpenAI’s o1 “reasoning” model and its pro mode, as well as lifted rate limits on OpenAI’s tools, such as the Sora video generator. Despite the premium features, the plan isn’t generating enough revenue to cover costs.
OpenAI, which has raised an estimated $20 billion since its founding, is still not profitable. In 2023, the company reportedly faced losses of around $5 billion, even as it earned $3.7 billion in revenue. Operational expenses such as staffing, office rents, and the infrastructure needed to train AI models have contributed to the deficit. Running ChatGPT alone was once estimated to cost the company around $700,000 per day.
OpenAI has admitted that it requires “more capital than it imagined” and is planning a corporate restructuring to attract new investments. To address its financial concerns, the company is reportedly considering increasing subscription prices across its offerings.
Despite these challenges, OpenAI is optimistic about its future. It forecasts that revenue could grow to $100 billion by 2029, a figure comparable to Nestlé’s current annual sales. However, achieving such a target may depend on strategic pricing and sustained investor support. This situation shows the financial strain of operating cutting-edge AI technology, even for industry leaders like OpenAI.