Recently, OpenAI faced a wave of executive departures, with the exit of three senior management members drawing widespread attention. To alleviate investment concerns, the company's CFO, Sarah Friar, communicated a positive message to the public via an email. In the message, she reiterated that OpenAI will continue to focus on developing artificial intelligence technologies that benefit investors, demonstrating the company's confidence in the future. Friar revealed that OpenAI's ongoing $6.5 billion funding round has been oversubscribed, with expectations of completion soon.

Recently, new data released by payment technology company Stripe has garnered widespread attention, showing that artificial intelligence (AI) startups are exhibiting an extraordinary speed in revenue growth. Unlike traditional software companies, these AI firms can reach millions of dollars in sales within just a year, which has surprised many. Note: Image generated by AI, licensed by Midjourney. In previous tech startup waves, many startups took years to achieve significant profitability, but now...

Sequoia Capital partner Pat Grady stated that future billion-dollar AI companies are more likely to emerge from application software rather than foundational model development. Although Sequoia has invested about $150 million in foundational models like OpenAI and xAI, its application layer investments are significantly higher. Grady emphasized the need for AI startups to design products atop models to meet market demands, expressing optimism abo....

📈 Trends in the Application of Large Models: The article mentions that large models have evolved from the model end to innovations at the application end. 🧑‍💻 Talent Competition in the Large Model Field: The article points out the particularly pronounced talent shortage, with intense competition between large companies and startups. 💰 Commercialization Paths for Large Models: The article analyzes two commercialization paths: cloud services for developers and industry-specific solutions.

The resignation of OpenAI's founder as CEO has ignited an internal power struggle. AI entrepreneurs in both China and the U.S. are under pressure to become profitable, with significant differences in the investment markets. The era of large models presents new challenges for entrepreneurs, as the survival space for independent apps shrinks. Investors are focusing on different segments: application layers are gaining attention in China, while the investment market in the U.S. is booming. The differences in AI entrepreneurship between China and the U.S. stem from the maturity of large models and the activity level of the investment markets.

Early investors point out that most AI companies may find it difficult to achieve profitability. With the investment frenzy in the AI field, many investors are merely following the trend rather than genuinely supporting the development of technology. Despite the bright prospects for AI, high costs, particularly those associated with computing power, remain a challenge.

The operational costs of products like ChatGPT are exorbitant, with OpenAI burning through approximately $700,000 daily to maintain its operation. Microsoft loses over $20 per month per user on GitHub Copilot, with heavy users costing $80. The commercialization of generative AI is challenging, and the industry faces a survival competition, making profitability the primary issue at hand. Microsoft denies that the $30 Office subscription is expensive, stating that it has already invested heavily in AI products. There is a call within the industry to lower usage costs, and both Microsoft and OpenAI are exploring self-developed AI chips.

OpenAI has incurred losses of $540 million, with revenues of only $28 million, making the prediction of OpenAI's bankruptcy next year potentially a reality. Declining user traffic, competition from open-source models, and pressure from Musk are major reasons for OpenAI's profitability dilemma. The overall profitability issue in the AI industry poses a bankruptcy warning for OpenAI, and small companies entering the AI market are also at risk.