Last December, Reuters reported that ChatGPT creator OpenAI was expected to reach its $1 billion annual revenue milestone by 2024. But new reports say that this chatbot is on a fast track to exceeding its previous expectations.
The Information first reported that AI research and deployment company OpenAI is creating around $80 million a month, further solidifying UBS research as the “fastest-growing consumer application in history.” Backed by Microsoft, the San Francisco-based startup was initially valued on paper at $27 billion when investors purchased stock from existing shareholders earlier this year. However, it lost around $540 million in 2022, developing GPT-4 and ChatGPT.
Since debuting its bot in November, OpenAI has seen an unprecedented demand for ChatGPT inside organizations. The company has worked with companies from fledgling firms to major corporations to adopt the technology in over 80% of Fortune 500 companies, per the website. After reaching its first 100 million users, the popular chatbot has made an astronomical rise among other earlier internet sensations like Instagram, Netflix, and TikTok.
“Its uncanny ability to mimic human conversation while completing tasks like writing poetry, recommending restaurants, and breaking down complex topics made ChatGPT an internet star—but for some users, the bot also came across as “unhinged” and argumentative,” per Fortune.
CEO Sam Altman expects OpenAI’s ambitious efforts around artificial general intelligence (AGI) to cost another $100 billion. What’s more? The agreement made earlier this year with Microsoft states that the tech giant is entitled to 75% of OpenAI’s profits until its $13 billion investment in the startup is repaid, Fortune reported.
As ChatGPT takes off, OpenAI is making a mark in other industries with its eye on boosting revenue from its best-known product.
Premium subscriptions
OpenAI rolled out a $20 premium subscription, offering companies paid access to its application programming interface. You can try the chat for free. But nonsubscribers cannot access all the features available to the most dedicated users—those who pay for the chatbot.
Business
This week, OpenAI launched a ChatGPT Enterprise model to attract a broad mix of business customers and to offset the costs of operating its ubiquitous chatbot.
This business version of the bot features “enterprise-grade security and privacy, unlimited higher-speed GPT-4 access, longer context windows for processing longer inputs, advanced data analysis capabilities, customization options, and much more,” per OpenAI.
Additionally, the company revealed in a blog post on Monday that early users included Canva, Estée Lauder, and PwC.
Healthcare
ChatGPT gives out better answers than human doctors 4 out of 5 times, according to a previous study published by JAMA Internal Medicine, BLACK ENTERPRISE reported. Experts say this could cause “major implications” in healthcare, and there are spaces within the industry where the chatbot could be helpful for medical advice.
For example, Gizmodo reported that after JAMA examined questions from patients, researchers found 79% of cases “preferred” responses from AI’s thorough responses. A panel of medical professionals even found AI to be more empathetic. However, according to experts, human doctors cannot be counted out without further research.