OpenAI Chief Financial Officer, Sarah Friar has indicated that the company could potentially achieve $11 billion in revenue, describing the milestone as “within the realm of possibility.”
Friar highlighted OpenAI’s continued innovation as a key factor preventing it from becoming a “commodity” in the AI space. This comes amid projections that the company, which reported $3.7 billion in revenue for 2024, could see its earnings jump to $11.6 billion by 2025.
OpenAI’s Growth and Investor Interest
Addressing speculation about a possible initial public offering (IPO), Friar suggested that OpenAI’s rapid expansion makes it highly attractive to investors.
“In terms of a multiple to pay for stock like ours, there’s incredible interest at the moment,” she stated, without confirming any immediate plans to go public.
On the same day, OpenAI’s Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap revealed that the company’s active weekly users had surged to 400 million—marking a 33% increase from 300 million in December. Additionally, its enterprise business has seen remarkable growth, with 2 million paying users, double the number reported in September.
“We get a lot of benefits and a tailwind from the organic consumer adoption where people already have familiarity with the product,” Lightcap said. “There’s really healthy growth on a different curve.”
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Financial Challenges and Controversial Buyout Offer
Despite its rapid expansion, OpenAI continues to face financial hurdles. Reports indicate that the company has raised $21.9 billion but is expected to incur $44 billion in losses before becoming profitable in 2029, when its revenue is projected to reach $100 billion.
Meanwhile, OpenAI was the subject of a high-profile buyout attempt earlier this month. A group of investors, led by Elon Musk, reportedly made an unsolicited $97.4 billion offer to purchase the nonprofit entity that controls the company.
In response, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman dismissed the proposal in a pointed social media post on February 10, stating, “No thank you, but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want,” referencing Musk’s social platform X by its former name.
