OpenAI spending surges as IPO plans advance

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OpenAI spending surges amid IPO

Highlights

OpenAI's 2025 spending reaches $34bn with $19bn on R&D and $6bn on sales and marketing, while revenue rises to $13bn with monthly run rate at $2bn by year-end.
Net loss for 2025 surges to $39bn from $5bn in 2024, primarily due to a one-off $30bn non-cash charge tied to prior convertible interest rights, with operational losses at $8bn.
OpenAI raises $122bn funding in early 2024 at a $730bn valuation, confidentially files IPO paperwork, and targets a >$1tn listing amid a competitive timeline with Anthropic.

2025 spending and loss profile

As first reported by independent journalist Ed Zitron and described in audited financial figures confirmed by people familiar with the matter, according to the Financial Times, OpenAI spends about $34bn in 2025, including roughly $19bn on research and development and nearly $6bn on sales and marketing.

The figures provide an unusually detailed view of the cost base behind the AI boom. OpenAI books about $13bn in revenue for the year, while monthly revenue reaches $2bn by the end of 2025, up from a $1bn quarterly run rate at the end of 2024.

Net loss attributable to OpenAI climbs to around $39bn in 2025 from $5bn in 2024. A person familiar with the matter says most of that increase reflects a non-cash accounting charge tied to the company’s former structure rather than its core operations.

Before OpenAI switched late last year to a public benefit corporation, investors held convertible interest rights instead of standard equity. Under U.S. accounting rules, those interests were treated as liabilities and revalued as OpenAI’s valuation rose, creating an estimated $30bn charge that is not expected to recur after the restructuring.

Excluding that charge and other non-cash items such as stock-based compensation and Microsoft computing credits, the person says OpenAI’s losses are $8bn.

Funding support and listing race

Investor appetite continues to fund OpenAI’s expansion as the company pushes toward a public market debut. Earlier this year, it raises $122bn in funding at a valuation of $730bn, excluding the new investment, and is preparing for a listing that could value the group at more than $1tn.

Chief executive Sam Altman last year urges staff to refine OpenAI’s consumer chatbot as the company seeks a stronger position in the fast-growing market for AI tools in business. The San Francisco-based company then shelves several more expensive side projects, including the video generation tool Sora.

OpenAI confidentially files IPO paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this month, while Altman says the move preserves the option of tapping public markets and that staying private could still prove preferable. Other senior figures and investors expect a flotation as soon as this autumn, setting up a race with Anthropic, which also files paperwork this month after raising $65bn at a $900bn valuation. OpenAI declines to comment.

Our earlier report on the U.S. export controls restricting access to Anthropic’s Mythos and Fable 5 examined how abruptly cutting off overseas availability can raise reliability and compliance risks for companies building on U.S. AI models. It also noted that cheaper, increasingly capable Chinese alternatives could gain share abroad, potentially affecting global standards and undermining international growth assumptions that support valuations across major AI players, including OpenAI.

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