ChatGPT, OpenAI’s artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot is reportedly going to get more expensive for paid customers. According to a new report, AI firm is planning to increase the subscription price for ChatGPIT Plus users by $2 (roughly Rs. 167) per month. The price hike is not expected to stop there, as the company is said to be increasing the monthly subscription cost by $44 (approximately Rs 3,685) over the next five years. The reason behind insisting on high ticket prices is said to be OpenAI’s revenue ambitions and expensive operational costs.
ChatGPT subscriptions will reportedly become more expensive
According to The New York Times, the AI firm plans to raise the subscription price to $2 by the end of 2024. Citing financial documents seen by the publication, the report further states that the final price of a ChatGPT Plus subscription could be $44. per month until the end of 2029, at the current $20 per month in the US or Rs. A sharp increase from. 1,950 per month in India.
Along with the price hike, the company reportedly wants to secure revenue of $100 billion (roughly Rs. 8.3 lakh crore) in 2029, the majority of which is expected to come from its subscription-based services. If the AI firm is able to achieve this target, it will generate annual revenues similar to those of Reliance Industries, Nestle or Comcast. According to the report, OpenAI currently has around 10 million ChatGPT Plus users.
Documents reviewed by the publication that were meant for investors and OpenAI reportedly highlighted that it is currently making “billions” from ChatGPT, and expects this number to increase significantly in the coming years. Notably, the company is in the process of closing a funding round.
Despite the big numbers projected in its revenue forecast, the company is reportedly struggling to optimize its operating costs. OpenAI is said to have lost around $5 billion (approximately Rs 41.8 thousand crore) this year, most of which goes into its AI-powered services. Other important cost-centres include employee salaries and office rent.
Another major source of expenditure is reportedly cloud computing for which the company uses the services of Microsoft. Despite raking in $13 billion (roughly Rs. 1.08 lakh crore) annually from partnerships, AI firms spend most of that money on running cloud processing.
