OpenAI is exploring new revenue streams as it seeks to fund its ambitious artificial intelligence research while maintaining accessibility for its rapidly growing user base.
The company’s Chief Financial Officer, Sarah Friar, recently outlined these plans at the World Economic Forum in Davos, revealing a strategic shift that includes advertising and potential revenue sharing from products developed using its technology.
The company has experienced remarkable growth over the past year, with its user base expanding from under 300 million to 800 million people. This acceleration has made ChatGPT “the largest growing consumer platform the world has ever seen,” according to Friar. However, with 95% of users accessing the service for free, OpenAI is now diversifying its business model beyond subscriptions and API services.
One significant change involves introducing advertising to ChatGPT, a move CEO Sam Altman previously resisted. Friar emphasized that this decision aligns with OpenAI’s mission of making AGI (artificial general intelligence) available to everyone, not just those who can pay.
“OpenAI’s northstar is AGI for the benefit of humanity. We’re a research lab. That’s what we goal on and it’s not for the benefit of humanity who can pay,” she explained.
The company has established strict guidelines for its advertising approach. The AI model will always provide the best answer rather than paid responses, and user conversations will not be shared with advertisers. Users will clearly see when they transition into conversations with advertisers, and a non-ad subscription tier will remain available.
Beyond advertising, OpenAI is exploring an innovative revenue model that involves taking a licensing share from products developed using its technology. Friar described a “value exchange model” where OpenAI would partner with companies like pharmaceutical developers or research organizations, working alongside them to create breakthroughs and then taking “a license off of the outcome.”
According to sources, this approach applies only to large-scale, negotiated enterprise partnerships, not individual users or creators. OpenAI is not planning to claim ownership or take a cut from consumer inventions, products, or creative work simply because its tools were used.
In enterprise scenarios, the arrangements are opt-in, contractual, and agreed to upfront. It is similar to existing cloud or enterprise software agreements, where OpenAI may provide custom models, deep infrastructure, or long-term technical collaboration. OpenAI makes money when its largest partners succeed, while everyday users retain full ownership of anything they create using ChatGPT or the API.
This approach represents a fundamental shift in how AI companies might monetize their technology, moving beyond traditional software licensing to stake claims in the innovations their platforms enable.
The company’s enterprise business is also growing rapidly, evolving from a 70-30 consumer-to-enterprise split to an expected 50-50 balance by year’s end. Over one million businesses now use the platform, with major corporations implementing company-wide transformations. BBVA, for instance, expanded from 10,000 to over 120,000 deployed seats across 25 countries.
OpenAI has strengthened its financial position with over $40 billion on its balance sheet following a record-breaking $41 billion fundraising round. The company remains focused on closing what Friar calls the “capability overhang,” where most users employ AI for simple tasks while power users leverage it for complex coding and research breakthroughs.
