OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently revealed on social media that despite the monthly fee for ChatGPT Pro reaching $200, the service is still struggling to turn a profit. He stated, "The crazy thing is: we are currently losing money on OpenAI Pro subscriptions!" He pointed out that user engagement has far exceeded expectations, leading to increased operational costs.
Altman's comments come a month after OpenAI announced that its Pro version of the ChatGPT service would be priced at $200, which is ten times the cost of the Plus subscription. For this fee, users gain unlimited access to advanced voice features and can utilize the o1 model, which provides optimal answers to complex questions.
However, it is evident that this high-priced new version has been warmly welcomed by users, which surprised Altman. He mentioned that he personally set the pricing and believed it could be profitable. But what exactly is causing the losses? Although Altman did not provide detailed explanations, it may relate to the way OpenAI's o1 model operates.
Generally, large language models can maximize hardware utilization better when processing multiple users simultaneously, but the o1 model employs a "Chain of Thought" approach, solving problems step-by-step. This method typically generates more tokens than traditional models (like GPT-4), and more tokens mean longer generation times, consuming more hardware resources and resulting in higher operational costs.
It is still unclear how OpenAI will adjust the subscription fees for ChatGPT Pro to improve revenue, and whether they will tighten the "unlimited" usage policy of the high-cost model remains unknown.
Meanwhile, OpenAI's profitability challenges occur at a critical time in its transition to a profit-making enterprise. The company recently announced that its profit division will convert to a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) to attract more investment. Under this new structure, the PBC will be responsible for operations, while the non-profit division will continue to have a significant influence on the profit division.
Despite facing profitability pressures, OpenAI recently successfully raised $6.6 billion in funding to support its future development. Additionally, Altman expressed confidence in the future of artificial intelligence in a blog post, stating that the company has mastered the methods to build Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and predicted that AI agents will join the workforce by 2025.
Key Points:
🌐 ChatGPT Pro's $200 monthly subscription is still unprofitable, with user engagement exceeding expectations.
💰 OpenAI's o1 model uses a "Chain of Thought" approach, leading to higher operational costs.
🚀 OpenAI plans to transition to a Public Benefit Corporation to attract more investment and maintain growth.
