OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, recorded about 51 trillion won in expenditure last year alone as competition intensifies to secure dominance in the artificial intelligence (AI) market.
According to the Financial Times (FT) on the 16th (local time), OpenAI spent $19 billion (about 28.74 trillion won) on research and development (R&D) and $6 billion (about 9 trillion won) on sales and marketing last year, for a total expenditure of $34 billion (about 51.4 trillion won).
Last year's revenue came to about $13 billion (about 19.7 trillion won). Revenue that was around $1 billion (about 1.5 trillion won) per quarter at the end of 2024 grew to $2 billion (about 3 trillion won) per month by the end of last year.
However, expenses rose faster than revenue. OpenAI's net loss last year was $39 billion (about 59 trillion won), up sharply from $5 billion (about 7.5 trillion won) the previous year. FT noted that if non-cash accounting expenses and stock-based compensation arising from past governance restructuring are excluded, the actual loss would be about $8 billion (about 12 trillion won).
OpenAI's expenditure last year was about 2.6 times its annual revenue. As competition intensified to develop AI models, secure data center infrastructure, and recruit top talent, the expense burden far outpaced revenue growth, analysts said.
Until now, as an unlisted company, OpenAI is said to have shouldered large-scale expenditure with funds raised through investment. Buoyed by investors' bets to preempt the key winner in the AI market, the company was able to secure capital relatively easily. However, some say that if it pushes for an initial public offering (IPO), such an aggressive investment strategy could become a liability.
Early this year, OpenAI raised $122 billion (about 184 trillion won) in a new funding round, valuing the company at $730 billion (about 1,104 trillion won). The company is reportedly preparing an IPO with a target valuation of more than $1 trillion (about 1,513 trillion won).