In 2025, OpenAI achieved an unprecedented milestone by exceeding an annualized revenue run rate of $20 billion, marking a transformative moment for the artificial intelligence sector. This figure constitutes a dramatic 233% year-over-year increase from its 2024 revenue, which itself represented significant growth from $2 billion in 2023 to $6 billion the following year. Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar highlighted this rapid expansion as unparalleled in both scale and pace, attributing it to the company's strategic investment in computational capacity.
OpenAI revealed that its revenue growth trajectory has been tightly coupled with an aggressive expansion in its compute infrastructure. Specifically, the organization increased its compute power from 0.2 gigawatts in 2023 to 0.6 gigawatts in 2024, and further escalated to approximately 1.9 gigawatts in 2025. This represents an almost tenfold increase in computational resources within a two-year timeframe, emphasizing the resource-intensive nature of generative AI operations.
The correlation between increased compute capacity and revenue is notable. Over the same period, revenue amplified from $2 billion in 2023 to over $20 billion in 2025. The company quantified this growth, stating that compute power expanded by a factor of 3 annually year-over-year and 9.5 times overall from 2023 to 2025. Revenue mirrored this progression, rising threefold each year and reaching a tenfold increase across the same span.
However, this massive infrastructure buildup entails substantial financial commitments. Reports indicate OpenAI is incurring an annualized operating loss exceeding $17 billion, reflecting the high costs associated with maintaining and expanding compute power. Subscription revenues alone do not appear sufficient to offset these expenses, implying significant pressure on the company’s financial sustainability.
To support this rapid growth and infrastructure scaling, OpenAI has engaged in sizable capital raising efforts. In late 2025, the company reportedly sought to secure $100 billion in funding at an $830 billion valuation, primarily aimed at further extending its compute capabilities. Concurrently, SoftBank Group completed a $40 billion investment, signaling strong external backing for the company’s expansion plans.
In response to increasing operational costs, OpenAI has introduced experimental monetization tactics. On a recent Friday, the company announced plans to pilot advertisements within the Free and Go tiers of ChatGPT, its flagship AI platform. Importantly, these ads will be clearly distinguished from the AI-generated responses and will not leverage conversation data for targeted advertising purposes. Paid subscriptions will remain ad-free, preserving the user experience for paying customers.
CEO Sam Altman has historically regarded advertising as a "last resort," yet this strategy suggests mounting pressure to derive revenue from a substantial base of non-paying users. As of mid-2025, paid subscription holders numbered approximately 35 million, representing about 5% of weekly active users, underscoring the challenge of monetizing the majority of the user base effectively.
This evolving landscape highlights the balance between explosive AI adoption fueled by compute expansion and the substantial financial outlays necessary to sustain such growth. OpenAI’s trajectory reflects broader industry dynamics, where rapid innovation intersects with daunting infrastructure demands and emergent monetization hurdles.