OpenAI is experiencing rapid growth despite increasing competition in the artificial intelligence sector. The San Francisco-based technology firm reported 400 million weekly active users in February, a 33% increase from 300 million in December, according to Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap. These figures, as reported by CNBC, highlight the company’s continued expansion.
Lightcap attributes this growth to the increasing utility and familiarity of ChatGPT among a broader audience. He noted that users are discovering the tool through recommendations and observing its practical applications, which drives adoption. “There’s an overall effect of people really wanting these tools and seeing that these tools are really valuable,” Lightcap said.
This surge in users is also benefiting OpenAI’s enterprise business. The company now has 2 million paying enterprise users, approximately double the number from September. Lightcap explained that employees often use ChatGPT personally and then advocate for its implementation within their organizations. “We get a lot of benefits and a tail wind from the organic consumer adoption where people already have familiarity with the product,” he stated.
Developer engagement has also doubled in the past six months, with a fivefold increase in the use of the company’s “reasoning” model. Developers are leveraging OpenAI to integrate the technology into their own applications. OpenAI’s enterprise clients include Uber, Morgan Stanley, Moderna, and T-Mobile.
Lightcap compared this usage to cloud services, pioneered by Amazon Web Services two decades ago. While the consumer business may grow faster due to ease of adoption, the enterprise sector is in the “process of building up”. He added, “AI is going to be like cloud services. It’s going to be something that you can’t run a business that ultimately is not really running on these very powerful models underneath the surface”.
OpenAI’s growth occurs amidst rising competition from Chinese competitor DeepSeek, which caused concern in tech markets in January. Investors worried that DeepSeek would hinder the future profitability and dominance of U.S. artificial intelligence companies.
Lightcap stated that this new competition has not changed OpenAI’s approach to open source, product roadmap, or spending plans. “DeepSeek is a testament to how much AI is like entered the public consciousness in the mainstream, it would have been unfathomable two years ago,” he said. “It’s a moment that shows how powerful these models are and how much people really care”.
In addition to DeepSeek’s emergence, OpenAI is also facing legal challenges. Billionaire Elon Musk, a company co-founder, has sued OpenAI for breach of contract as it attempts to convert into a for-profit. Microsoft has invested billions in the company, while SoftBank is reportedly close to finalizing a $40 billion investment that could value OpenAI at close to $300 billion.
Musk and a group of investors bid to buy the nonprofit’s assets for $97.4 billion earlier this month. However, OpenAI’s lawyer stated that the company’s board determined that Musk’s “much-publicized ‘bid’ is in fact not a bid at all”. OpenAI Chairman Bret Taylor stated that the company “is not for sale”.
“The numbers tell the story,” Lightcap said. “We try to be very transparent about where we stand on all of this. (Musk) is a competitor. He’s competing. It’s an unorthodox way of competing”.
OpenAI anticipates a surge in revenue from $20-$30 million in 2022 to $200 million in 2023, with a projected annual revenue of $1 billion by 2025. The company’s valuation has steadily increased, reaching an estimated $29 billion in 2025. Some estimates place OpenAI’s valuation as high as $100 billion. OpenAI hopes to reach one billion users in 2025.
