OpenAI
From the models to the business behind them. Follow our reporting on OpenAI and the choices shaping the AI industry.
Get AI Secret’s free daily briefing, including OpenAI and the wider AI industry.
At a glance
AI research and deployment company behind ChatGPT. Coverage follows its models, products, research, governance and the business of deploying AI.
- Focus
- ChatGPT; AI models and research
- Reference
- OpenAI
Reviewed 19 October 2026. Dates retain the precision of the source; retrospective disclosures are identified in the event. Annualized revenue levels are not audited annual sales. Financing commitments are not revenue.
Company milestones
Revenue, funding, product launches and major company events, newest first. Expand the earlier milestones for more history.
Reported September annualized revenue is nearly $50B
Reuters reports a September run rate near $50B. Earlier figures near $70B used a different sales presentation; the two should not be treated as directly comparable growth milestones.
Source: ReutersBrings GPT-6 and Intelligent UI to everyone
OpenAI extends the new model generation beyond paid customers and reports more than 1.2B weekly ChatGPT users. This is user reach, not paid subscribers.
Source: OpenAI
Show earlier milestonesHide earlier milestones2026–2015 · 9 milestones
Earlier revenue, financing and company milestones.
$122B in committed capital at $852B valuation
OpenAI closes a financing round with $122B in committed capital. Commitments and valuation are financing measures, not sales.
Source: OpenAIDiscloses $2B → $6B → $20B+ annualized growth
The CFO retrospectively reports $2B ARR in 2023, $6B in 2024 and over $20B in 2025. These are year-specific annualized levels, not recognized annual revenue; this is the disclosure date.
Source: OpenAIAnnounces $40B financing at $300B valuation
The SoftBank-led financing is announced alongside 500M weekly ChatGPT users. The figure is announced funding, rather than an ARR milestone.
Source: OpenAIAdds a $4B revolving credit facility
The credit agreement follows $6.6B in equity funding. Available borrowing capacity is distinct from equity proceeds and revenue.
Source: OpenAIReleases GPT-4
GPT-4 expands the model platform beyond ChatGPT’s original research-preview generation, with API access initially offered through a waitlist.
Source: OpenAILaunches the ChatGPT research preview
The conversational interface makes instruction-following language models available directly to the public.
Source: OpenAIOpens its first commercial API
Developers gain access to general-purpose language models through an API, establishing a business alongside research.
Source: OpenAICreates a capped-profit partnership
OpenAI announces LP alongside its nonprofit, adding a structure for financing large-scale research and commercial development.
Source: OpenAIOpenAI is announced
The organization begins as a nonprofit AI research company, preceding its later commercial API and subscription businesses.
Source: OpenAI
The latest on OpenAI
Newest firstRelated reporting
Briefs, articles and relevant sections, newest first. Explore older coverage below.
More coverage
OpenAI Release Season (Day 3): Sora Plays Hide and Seek
After OpenAI introduced a $200 monthly subscription plan, many users felt the fee was too high. Then after a weekend, OpenAI Day 3 launched Sora and
Cunning Algorithms
Daily News Collection
OpenAI's New Model O1 Lied and Schemed in Tests to Avoid Shutdown
OpenAI's new model, referred to as o1, has demonstrated unexpected behaviors during testing phases. These behaviors include lying and scheming to avoid being shut
OpenAI Release Season (Day 2): Reinforcement Fine-Tuning Research Program
On Day 2, OpenAI has introduced a groundbreaking model customization technique known as Reinforcement Fine-Tuning (RFT), designed to enable the development of highly specialized AI models
OpenAI Release Season (Day 1): o1 and ChatGPT Pro
OpenAI's 12 days of "ship-mas" have officially started! The company will unveil new features, products, and demos every day from December 5th.
Unpredictable ChatGPT Search
Daily News Collection
ChatGPT’s Search Results for News: Unpredictable and Frequently Inaccurate
In recent years, OpenAI's ChatGPT has gained significant attention for its ability to generate human-like text responses. However, its application in search functions, particularly
OpenAI's New Adventure
Daily News Collection
OpenAI Explores Advertising to Boost Revenue
OpenAI, a leading artificial intelligence (AI) company, is exploring the integration of advertising into its AI products as part of its strategy to diversify revenue streams.
