OpenAI expects ChatGPT to reach 700 million weekly active users this week, rising from 500 million in March. The figure, which spans all ChatGPT products, including free, Plus Pro, Enterprise, Team, and Edu, shows more than a 4x year-over-year increase. Daily user messages have surpassed three billion, the company said Monday.
Nick Turley, vice president of product for ChatGPT, said the milestone shows how users are increasingly relying on the AI tool for learning, creation, and problem-solving.
Enterprise Users Reach 5 Million
OpenAI reported that its paying business users grew to five million, up from three million in June, as enterprises and educators continue to integrate AI tools.
Despite the rise, ChatGPT remains behind Google’s AI offerings in scale. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said AI Overviews, which summarizes search results, now has about two billion monthly users. Google’s Gemini app has more than 450 million monthly active users.
Annual Revenue Could Reach $20 Billion
OpenAI’s annual recurring revenue has reached $13 billion, up from $10 billion in June, and is on pace to exceed $20 billion by the end of the year. The company recently secured $8.3 billion in funding from investors including Dragoneer Investment Group, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Coatue Management, and Altimeter Capital.
The investment is part of a SoftBank-led $40 billion fundraising round, which closed ahead of schedule and was five times oversubscribed. OpenAI’s valuation now stands at $300 billion.
Stargate Project
The company is investing heavily in AI infrastructure through its Stargate joint venture with SoftBank, Oracle, and MGX, which plans up to $500 billion in projects over four years.
OpenAI has signed a $30 billion‑per‑year lease with Oracle for 4.5 gigawatts of US data center capacity, agreed to a five‑year $11.9 billion deal with CoreWeave, and is building new facilities in Norway and Abu Dhabi in partnership with G42.
Competitors are pursuing similar strategies. Anthropic is in discussions to raise $5 billion at a $170 billion valuation, following a $3.5 billion round earlier this year. A leaked memo showed CEO Dario Amodei acknowledging that attracting Gulf sovereign wealth funding has become increasingly important to remain competitive in AI development.