OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently made a surprising revelation on X (formerly Twitter) about the company’s financial challenges with its ChatGPT Pro subscriptions. In his tweet, Altman stated, “Insane thing: we are currently losing money on OpenAI Pro subscriptions! People use it much more than we expected.”
The Pro subscription for ChatGPT, which offers access to the advanced GPT-4 model, has gained significant traction globally, including in India. In India, the subscription is priced at $200 per month, which is about Rs 17,000. It is an attractive option for professionals, businesses, and students seeking enhanced productivity and creativity. The Pro subscribers of ChatGPT receive benefits such as faster response times, priority access during peak usage hours, and advanced capabilities powered by GPT-4.
Despite the steady influx of subscribers, Altman’s comments underline a major issue — usage levels that far exceed expectations. While the Pro subscription was designed to offset the high operational costs of running large-scale AI models, the current usage rates are proving to be unsustainable for OpenAI’s financial model. Large language models like GPT-4 require substantial computational resources, which lead to escalating cloud computing and server costs.
The announcement sheds light on the delicate balance tech companies must maintain between offering powerful, accessible tools and ensuring financial viability. OpenAI’s pricing model for Pro subscriptions, aimed at democratising AI access, now faces scrutiny as the company grapples with these unexpected challenges.
India has emerged as a significant market for ChatGPT, with professionals across sectors such as education, IT, and content creation adopting the Pro subscription to streamline tasks and unlock AI-driven efficiencies. The relatively affordable pricing in India compared to global rates has also contributed to its popularity.
Altman’s disclosure has sparked a wave of curiosity about OpenAI’s next steps. The curiosity has especially been growing ever since Altman’s recent post about his prediction of AI replacing humans at work in 2025.
