OpenAI expects revenue will triple to $12.7 billion this year, source says

OpenAI expects revenue will triple to $12.7 billion in 2025, CNBC has confirmed.

Bloomberg was first to report on the revenue figure, which was confirmed to CNBC by a source familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the number is private.

Microsoft, OpenAI’s principal investor and key strategic partner, recorded $13 billion in annual recurring revenue in the fourth quarter, up 175% from a year earlier.

The news comes two days after OpenAI announced a slew of responsibility changes for C-suite executives. CEO Sam Altman will shift his focus away from day-to-day operations and focus more on research and product, the company said, while operating chief Brad Lightcap’s role will expand to oversee the company’s “business and day-to-day operations.”

OpenAI faces intense competition in a generative AI “arms race” of sorts, from other high-valued startups like Anthropic and Perplexity and tech giants like Google and Microsoft, which has been the company’s top backer and key strategic partner.

News of the revenue projections also follows OpenAI’s Tuesday announcement that it would introduce native image generation within ChatGPT. The feature has begun rolling out to ChatGPT PLUS, Pro and Team users, as well as users of ChatGPT’s free tier, when they use OpenAI’s 4o model. The company said ChatGPT Enterprise and Edu users will receive access “soon.”

OpenAI said the “high-quality” image-generation tool can produce diagrams, infographics and logos — which are examples it gave of image-generation “where accuracy is important” — as well as things like business cards and stock photos. It can also use an image as a starting point for art, such as a custom painting of a pet, OpenAI said in a Tuesday blog post, or editing a professional headshot.

On X, images of anime-style renderings of users’ uploaded photos have been going viral, with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman changing his profile photo to one.