PitchBook的数据显示，截至2024年9月，OpenAI已经筹集了179亿美元的巨额资金，其中大部分来自微软(MSFT.US)。数据还显示，OpenAI平均每11个月进行一次融资。对OpenAI首席执行官Sam Altman来说，寻求融资是其最重要的任务之一。据报道，OpenAI的内部预测表明，在2023年至2028年之间，该公司的累计亏损将达到440亿美元。The AI startup OpenAI, which has an endless pursuit of financing, has a logical solution to its ever-increasing operating costs—conducting an initial public offering (IPO) in 2025.
Few companies can go from anonymity to household names like OpenAI. OpenAI launched the generative AI chatbot ChatGPT at the end of 2022 and claimed that weekly active users reached 0.1 billion within the following year. By August 2024, this number had doubled. However, OpenAI still has a long way to go in converting popularity into profit, mainly due to the high costs of training and deploying large models.
Reportedly, despite rapid revenue growth, OpenAI remains in a loss-making position due to the high costs of building and running models. Estimates suggest that OpenAI's costs this year are primarily divided into inference costs, training costs, and labor costs, totaling around 8.5 billion dollars. Media reports have analyzed undisclosed internal financial data from OpenAI and information from insiders, estimating that OpenAI's losses this year may reach up to 5 billion dollars.
According to PitchBook data, as of September 2024, OpenAI has raised a staggering 17.9 billion dollars, most of which comes from Microsoft. The data also shows that OpenAI averages a funding round every 11 months. For OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman, seeking financing is one of his most important tasks. Reports indicate that OpenAI's internal forecasts suggest that the company’s cumulative losses will reach 44 billion dollars between 2023 and 2028.
Former supporter of OpenAI, Musk, carved out an inspiring path for OpenAI. Musk's electric car company Tesla went public in 2010. Tesla's IPO demonstrated that companies could obtain convenient funding sources by leveraging retail investors' enthusiasm to overcome difficulties. For example, in 2020, Tesla raised 10 billion dollars in just a few months amid a trading frenzy from fans. Even if retail investors do not receive allocations in such stock issuances, their demand keeps the stock price high, instilling confidence in institutional investors to Buy.
Certainly, the allure of attracting retail investors is incredible, but allowing retail investors to partake in the IPO would help, just like Robinhood and Reddit have done. OpenAI offers investors a pure bet on AI, which is a good sign.
It is worth noting that the main obstacle facing OpenAI may be its unconventional governance structure, where a non-profit organization controls a for-profit subsidiary and limits equity returns. However, Sam Altman seems to be pushing OpenAI towards becoming a for-profit company, which means that the company's IPO may be feasible. The newly appointed Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar in June this year is an IPO veteran, having played a key role in the IPO processes of NextDoor and Block.
Pandering to the public is risky, as their attention may be shorter than that of venture capitalists or corporate backers. However, nothing prevents Microsoft or SoftBank from continuing to invest in the already public OpenAI. If existing funds run out, going public would provide OpenAI with a reasonable backup plan.
