OpenAI forecasts 220 million paying ChatGPT subscribers by 2030, aiming to become one of the world’s largest subscription businesses.
SAN FRANCISCO: OpenAI projects at least 220 million weekly ChatGPT users will pay for a subscription by 2030, according to The Information.
The artificial intelligence firm estimates that 8.5% of an estimated 2.6 billion weekly users will subscribe to its chatbot.
This would position ChatGPT among the world’s largest subscription businesses.
As of July, approximately 35 million users paid for “Plus” or “Pro” plans at $20 and $200 a month, respectively.
That figure represents roughly 5% of ChatGPT’s weekly active user base.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report, and OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment.
OpenAI’s annualized revenue run rate is expected to reach about $20 billion by this year-end.
Sources told Reuters that losses in the company are also mounting.
The Information reported in September that OpenAI generated around $4.3 billion in revenue in the first half of 2025.
That figure is about 16% more than it generated all of last year.
The company burned $2.5 billion, largely due to research and development costs for AI and running ChatGPT.
OpenAI expects to generate about 20% of its revenue from new products like shopping- and advertising-driven features.
This week it introduced a personal shopping assistant for ChatGPT.
The move could pave the way for monetization through ads or commission-based sales. – Reuters
