OpenAI’s financials have leaked, showing $21 billion in losses against $13 billion in revenue
Key takeaways
- Blogger Ed Zitron and the Financial Times have obtained copies of Open AI’s financial statements, which show steepening losses at the company.
- Notably, the company’s losses far outstrip its sales.
- OpenAI’s two biggest expenses are R&D and marketing.
Blogger Ed Zitron and the Financial Times have obtained copies of Open AI’s financial statements, which show steepening losses at the company. (Open AI has filed with the SEC for an IPO expected later this year, so the numbers give us a taste of what the S-1 might say). Here’s what the numbers look like:
Notably, the company’s losses far outstrip its sales. On the bright side, losses as a percentage of sales are in decline. In 2024, the company spent $2.37 to generate every $1 in revenue. In 2025, that ratio declined to $1.60 in expenses for every dollar it took in.
Is there a path to profitability? Maybe. OpenAI’s two biggest expenses are R&D and marketing. Budget cuts there, coupled with an ability to raise prices or win new sources of revenue, could see the company move into the black over time. Cutting R&D would be the most difficult part of that, given that AI companies can only hold onto their customers by generating the best-performing models.