Recently, OpenAI released its financial performance report for the first half of 2025. Notably, the company's revenue reached an impressive $4.3 billion, representing a growth of about 16% compared to the same period last year. However, despite the strong income performance, OpenAI's cash consumption rate is remarkably high, with $2.5 billion spent in the first half of the year, and an estimated annual total of $8.5 billion. This data is mainly attributed to the substantial investment in AI technology development and ChatGPT operations.
According to a report by The Information, OpenAI's monthly revenue has now exceeded $1 billion, and the annual revenue is expected to exceed $13 billion. However, rapid growth has not alleviated its huge losses. The operating loss in the first half of the year reached $7.8 billion, and the net loss was as high as $13.5 billion. A large part of this is due to the revaluation of convertible equity interests caused by accounting treatment.
In terms of R&D investment, OpenAI's expenses have also significantly increased. The R&D expenses in the first half of the year reached $6.7 billion, while sales and marketing expenses reached $2 billion, both far exceeding the previous year's levels. At the same time, stock-based compensation costs are also rising, with approximately $2.5 billion spent in the first half of the year, and an estimated annual total of $6 billion, nearly twice that of last year.
Additionally, capital expenditures related to servers have become another burden for OpenAI. The company expects the total investment in computing infrastructure to reach about $450 billion by 2030, with rental costs alone reaching as high as $1.6 billion this year. To alleviate cash pressure, OpenAI has already paid approximately $670 million in equity to server suppliers.
Although OpenAI performed well in terms of sales in the first half of the year, its massive cash consumption and losses have raised concerns about its future sustainability. For a company that centers on artificial intelligence, how to control costs while continuing to expand will be a key challenge for its future development.
