The plan rests on broadening monetisation beyond ChatGPT, converting partnerships into co-investment vehicles, and deploying company-backed AI infrastructure as a service.
OpenAI currently derives about 70 percent of its annual recurring revenue—estimated at $13 billion—from ChatGPT subscriptions. Only about 5 percent of the reported 800 million users pay for premium access, leaving the company dependent on a small-paying base. Observers see little room to scale that margin rapidly without more novel income sources.
Among its core gambits is a push into advertising. While CEO Sam Altman has earlier expressed hesitation, the head of ChatGPT, Nick Turley, has said OpenAI will not rule out ad integration, so long as it remains “thoughtful and tasteful” and aligned with user goals. OpenAI is actively recruiting leadership to build its advertising arm.
Another strategy is making commission revenue via e-commerce by enabling “checkout” through ChatGPT interfaces, allowing OpenAI to take a slice of each transaction. The company is also building custom AI hardware and exploring AI agent products, working with former Apple designer Jony Ive on a personal assistant device.
On the infrastructure side, OpenAI is deepening its dependence on its ecosystem of suppliers. It has secured chip supply deals with Nvidia, AMD and a new multibillion-dollar agreement with Broadcom, targeting custom AI accelerators to reduce reliance on external vendors. Total compute commitments secured exceed 26 gigawatts—priced at tens of billions per gigawatt.
These deals are often circular in nature: chipmakers invest in OpenAI or provide concessions that effectively subsidise hardware acquisition in return for usage guarantees. Some analysts warn this setup risks financial fragility if an outside shock disrupts the symbiosis.
OpenAI’s Stargate initiative—its multi-site global data centre network—is now being expanded aggressively. The company has announced five new sites under Stargate, bringing its planned capacity to nearly 7 GW and targeting over $400 billion in infrastructure investment in the near term. A new Latin American site in Patagonia is expected to draw up to $25 billion in investment, making it the region’s largest AI facility.
Much of OpenAI’s roadmap depends on external capital. Earlier this year, it raised $40 billion, led by SoftBank, on terms requiring it to transition fully into a for-profit entity.
OpenAI is also exploring more debt financing and issuing convertible instruments as bridging strategies while it scales its new business models.
Yet OpenAI is still deep in the red. In the first half of the year it posted an $8 billion operating loss, during a period when compute costs and capital expenditure surged. The financing burden has prompted speculation over whether OpenAI is overextending.
Still, leadership appears focused on placing technology leadership ahead of short-term profitability. Altman has remarked that turning a stable profit is not among his top immediate concerns.
Some institutions reliant on OpenAI have grown wary: major companies have struck enterprise agreements with the firm, embedding its models into operations and supply chains. A failure or pull-back would reverberate across those clients.
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