ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot by OpenAI is reportedly about to get more expensive for paid subscribers. According to a new report, the AI firm is planning to increase the subscription price for ChatGPT Plus users by $2 (roughly Rs. 167) a month. The price hike is not expected to stop there either, as the company is said to push the monthly subscription cost to $44 (roughly Rs. 3,685) in the next five years. The reason behind pushing for a higher ticket price is said to be OpenAI’s revenue ambitions and expensive cost of running operations.
ChatGPT Subscriptions to Reportedly Get More Expensive
According to The New York Times, the AI firm is planning to increase the subscription price by $2 by the end of 2024. Citing financial documents viewed by the publication, the report further added that the final price of the ChatGPT Plus subscription might stand at $44 a month by the end of 2029, a steep climb from the current $20 a month in the US or Rs. 1,950 a month in India.
With the price hike, the company reportedly wants to secure a revenue of $100 billion (roughly Rs. 8.3 lakh crore) in 2029, a majority of which is expected to come from its subscription-based services. If the AI firm is able to achieve this target, it would be raking in annual revenue similar to Reliance Industries, Nestlé, or Comcast. OpenAI currently has approximately 10 million ChatGPT Plus users, according to the report.
The documents reviewed by the publication that was meant for the investors and OpenAI reportedly highlighted that it is currently making “billions” from ChatGPT, and expects to boost the numbers 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 estimation, the company is reportedly struggling with optimising its operational costs. OpenAI is said to lose approximately $5 billion (roughly Rs. 41.8 thousand crore) this year, most of which goes towards its AI-powered services. Other significant cost-centres include employee salaries and office rent.
Another major source of expense is reportedly cloud computing for which the company uses Microsoft’s services. Despite getting $13 billion (roughly Rs. 1.08 lakh crore) yearly due to the partnership, the AI firm spends much of that money on running cloud processing.