OpenAI has more than 400 million users & doubles its paying corporate customers
According to OpenAI, the number of weekly AI users has risen by a third since December. In addition, the AI company now has 2 million corporate subscriptions.
(Image: CHUAN CHUAN/Shutterstock.com)
Greater competition from DeepSeek, for example, and an external takeover bid from Elon Musk have not affected OpenAI's growth – on the contrary. According to its own figures, the AI company has counted 33 percent more people who use services such as ChatGPT at least once a week since December. The figure is now 400 million. At the same time, the number of corporate customers with paid subscriptions has almost doubled to 2 million.
It was only in September last year that the number of users of the business versions of ChatGPT broke the million mark, after the AI startup had only counted 600,000 corporate subscriptions around 10 months ago. The company is also seeing significantly more access from developers who are integrating the AI into their own software, as OpenAI CEO Brad Lightcap explains in an interview with CNBC. This part of the business has also doubled and, according to Lightcap, even quintupled for the o3 reasoning model.
OpenAI growth a "natural development"
Lightcap explains the overall increase in the acceptance of AI functions with a "natural development" of ChatGPT. The AI chatbot is now more useful for a larger group of people. However, it would take longer for different people to find suitable use cases. "People find out about it through word of mouth. They recognize the benefits of it. They see their friends using it," Lightcap said, "Overall, the effect is that people really want these tools and realize they're really valuable."
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Lightcap also explained the stronger user growth in the business environment in part with the experiences that users have had with ChatGPT in their private lives. Employees often use the AI chatbot privately and recommend their bosses and employers to use the tool for business purposes. "The acceptance among consumers who are already familiar with the product brings us many benefits and gives us a tailwind," says Lightcap. "There is really healthy growth, but on a different curve."
DeepSeek competition not a stumbling block for OpenAI
OpenAI's growth comes at a time of mild turbulence in the AI environment. In November last year , DeepSeek-R1 from China entered the scene as a new AI language model with reasoning and put Silicon Valley under pressure. This is because the Chinese AI models from Deepseek are inexpensive and powerful. But there is also criticism. For example, the Chinese AI deliberately hides some topics, and data protectionists have now initiated proceedings against DeepSeek due to security concerns.
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OpenAI has also accused the Chinese developers of training their AI models on the basis of ChatGPT. However, according to Lightcap, DeepSeek's appearance has not influenced OpenAI's plans and strategies. "DeepSeek is a testament to how much AI has entered the public consciousness of the general public – two years ago that would have been unthinkable," he said. "This moment shows how powerful these models are and how much people really care about them."
Musk's takeover bid and OpenAI's search for money
At the same time, OpenAI is under financial and legal pressure. US billionaire Elon Musk has been trying for months to prevent the planned transformation of OpenAI into a for-profit company. He initially sued the AI company over this, but this month he changed tactics and wants to take control. Musk & Co. are offering 100 billion US dollars for this. However, the board of directors of the AI company clearly rejected the takeover bid and sent a clear signal to Musk that OpenAI is not for sale.
Lightcap said: "We are trying to be very transparent about our position on all of this. (Musk) is a competitor. He is a competitor. It's an unorthodox kind of competition." As is well known, the AI company needs money: 40 billion US dollars. OpenAI is therefore looking for new investors. Microsoft has already invested billions in OpenAI, but a Japanese company is being discussed as another major backer. CNBC reports that Softbank is planning to invest the desired 40 billion dollars.
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