Sam Altman, OpenAI chief executive officer (CEO), drew a line on the possibility of an initial public offering (IPO) that recently surfaced in the market, saying there are no specific plans.
On the 1st (local time), Altman appeared with Microsoft (MS) CEO Satya Nadella on a podcast hosted by Altimeter Capital founder Brad Gerstner and said this. He said, "I am a realist, so I think an (IPO) will happen someday, but I don't know why people write these articles," adding, "No specific date has been set, and the board has not made such a decision."
Altman expressed confidence regarding the company's annual revenue. He said the company's annual revenue is "much more" than the estimated $13 billion (about 18.6 trillion won) and said it could reach $100 billion in sales in 2027. Altman said, "We predict ChatGPT will continue to grow, and we are confident it can become one of the important AI clouds."
Earlier, the Financial Times in the United Kingdom reported that OpenAI is generating about $13 billion in annual sales, while only 5% of the 800 million ChatGPT users are paid subscribers. It said the amount is far too small compared with the $1 trillion AI infrastructure investment. Altman pushed back on the report, saying, "We are generating more revenue than that."
In response to Gerstner's question about raising funds, he said, "If you want to sell (OpenAI) shares, I will find you a buyer," adding, "There will be many people who want to buy OpenAI shares." He went on, "There are critics who breathlessly voice concerns about our computing hardware and other things, and they will want to buy our stock," adding, "To people who say OpenAI will soon go under, I want to say they can short the stock, and I would like to see them take a loss."