OpenAI’s ChatGPT has been on a roll. Its paid user base has grown nearly 67% in just a few months.
According to the latest crypto news, OpenAI’s paid user base across its business segments—including ChatGPT Enterprise, Team, and Edu—has surged by nearly 67% since April, reaching over one million users as of September 5.
The San Francisco-based AI company’s success is driven by its cutting-edge language model, positioning it as a leader in the artificial intelligence space.
A Reuters report revealed that OpenAI’s business products jumped from 600,000 users in April to one million users by early September. With this growth, OpenAI is reportedly planning to roll out higher-priced subscription plans for its upcoming AI models, Strawberry and Orion. These plans could cost as much as $2,000 per month.
The news follows xAI’s recent launch of its Grok-2 AI assistant, available to X users with Premium or Premium+ memberships. Although xAI, founded in July 2023, is relatively new, Elon Musk hinted at its potential to become a competitor to OpenAI by late 2024 during his appearance at Viva Tech Paris 2024.
On the financial front, OpenAI is drawing attention from major players like Apple and Nvidia, who are reportedly interested in investing in its next funding round.
Microsoft, already holding a 49% stake after investing $13 billion since 2019, is also participating. This could push OpenAI’s valuation to over $100 billion.
Despite these promising developments, OpenAI’s revenue remains below expectations, with annualized sales of approximately $3.4 billion as of May 2024. However, the company announced on August 29 that ChatGPT’s weekly active users have doubled over the past year, exceeding 200 million.
On the policy side, OpenAI has voiced its support for California’s AB 3211 AI bill, which would mandate watermarks in AI-generated media like photos, videos, and audio clips. However, the company opposes another bill, SB 1047, introduced by California State Senator Scott Wiener.
This bill would require AI developers to conduct safety testing on some of their models.
Globally, on September 5, the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom signed the Framework Convention on AI. This treaty emphasizes the need to safeguard human rights and uphold democratic values in both public and private AI systems. Although this is the first legally binding international treaty on AI, the penalties for violations have yet to be determined.
