ChatGPT Pro losing money amid surge in usage: Sam Altman

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the company is ‘losing money’, adding that people were using it "much more than we expected."

“insane thing: we are currently losing money on openai pro subscriptions! people use it much more than we expected,” he posted on X.



ChatGPT Pro, launched in late 2022, offers premium features such as enhanced capabilities, access to OpenAI’s o1 “reasoning” model, and higher usage limits for tools like the Sora video generator. Despite these benefits, the subscription plan fails to generate sufficient revenue to cover its costs.

In the comments section, Altman added that he “personally chose the price and thought we would make some money.”

Microsoft-backed 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. The Altman-led company is in the process of restructuring its corporate model as it transitions into a for-profit entity.