According to The Information, internal data shows that as of March, OpenAI generated approximately $1 billion in annualized revenue by selling access to its AI models. This achievement is particularly noteworthy as OpenAI only began assembling a dedicated sales team in mid-last year. In contrast, Microsoft, the world's largest enterprise and cloud software vendor, saw its Azure OpenAI Service reach $1 billion in annualized revenue only recently.
In response to OpenAI's rapid growth, Microsoft has taken a series of measures, including adjusting the pricing strategy for Azure OpenAI Service to lower peak usage costs. Microsoft expects Azure OpenAI Service to achieve $2 billion in annualized revenue within a year.
चित्र स्रोत नोट: चित्र AI द्वारा उत्पन्न, चित्र अधिकार सेवा प्रदाता Midjourney
Despite Microsoft's strong market position, an increasing number of companies are choosing to collaborate directly with OpenAI. For example, the European travel booking site Holiday Extras has opted to work directly with OpenAI, saving $800,000 in employee time costs annually. This trend reflects companies' preference for obtaining services directly from the core technology developers of AI.
In the enterprise-level AI tools market, Microsoft's Copilot and OpenAI's ChatGPT are engaged in fierce competition. Although 60% of Fortune 500 companies choose to use Copilot, the growth rate of Microsoft Office applications in enterprise sales has slowed, indicating the intensity of market competition.
Despite the competition, the collaboration between Microsoft and OpenAI continues. The two companies are working together to develop large supercomputers, and Microsoft has permanent rights to use OpenAI's technology in its own products. Financially, Microsoft is expected to gain long-term benefits from OpenAI's success, including potentially receiving up to 75% profit sharing in the future.
The two companies have also established a reciprocal revenue-sharing mechanism, with Microsoft and OpenAI each receiving a share from each other's sales, essentially offsetting each other. Currently, the gross margin of Azure OpenAI services is approximately 40%, with the potential for further improvement. OpenAI's API business is expected to achieve a gross margin level similar to that of Microsoft.
