OpenAI hit $1 billion in monthly revenue for the first time in July, CFO Sarah Friar told CNBC. The company expects to triple its annual revenue to $12.7 billion in 2025, according to earlier statements. By June, OpenAI had already reached an annualized revenue run rate of $10 billion. Most of this growth comes from paid ChatGPT subscriptions, especially since the launch of the new GPT-5 model. Despite some early criticism of the new model, Friar says OpenAI is seeing rising numbers of Plus and Pro subscribers. The surge in demand is putting pressure on technical resources - the company’s need for computing power now exceeds what’s available. Last week, CEO Sam Altman said OpenAI plans to invest in new data centers, with spending expected to run into the trillions.

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Max is the managing editor of THE DECODER, bringing his background in philosophy to explore questions of consciousness and whether machines truly think or just pretend to.
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