OpenAI Surpasses Microsoft in AI Model Sales, Reaching $1 Billion Annualized Revenue!

After establishing a partnership with Microsoft in 2019, the AI startup OpenAI has demonstrated remarkable sales prowess. According to the latest internal data from both companies, by March, OpenAI generated approximately 1 billion in annualized revenue (ARR) through the sale of access to its AI models. Incontrast, Microsoft, sequivalent product, Azure OpenAI Service,only recently reached 1 billion in ARR. (Note: ARR refers to estimating the total annual revenue by multiplying the revenue of the previous month by 12.)

This achievement is particularly noteworthy as, until mid-last year, OpenAI had hardly any dedicated sales team, whereas Microsoft is the world's largest enterprise and cloud software vendor.

Regarding revenue sources, OpenAI is renowned for its ChatGPT chatbot and generates income by selling access to advanced AI models like GPT-4 and assisting its largest customers in customizing software according to specific needs.

Specifically, OpenAI offers an API (Application Programming Interface) service that allows developers and companies to directly utilize its AI models, such as GPT-4. Increasingly, clients are bypassing Microsoft and purchasing OpenAI's models directly. Based on its partnership with OpenAI, Microsoft also provides a similar service called Azure OpenAI Service, enabling customers to purchase access to OpenAI models through this service.