OpenAI expects 220 million ChatGPT subscribers by 2030
OpenAI has projected ChatGPT is on track to become one of the world's biggest subscription services, with about 220 million people expected to pay for it by 2030.
That's out of a projected 2.6 billion weekly users—pretty wild growth from the current about 35 million paying subscribers.
Why does this matter?
OpenAI's revenue is booming, with total revenue reaching around $4.3 billion in the first half of 2025 and annualized revenue run rate is expected to reach about $20 billion by this year-end (end of 2025).
But running advanced AI isn't cheap—the company has burned $2.5 billion so far and could see mounting losses.
How is OpenAI planning for the future?
To keep things fresh (and profitable), OpenAI wants new features like shopping and advertising to make up a fifth of its income.
Over a million enterprise users already use ChatGPT for Work, and big companies are weaving it into their daily operations—so chances are, you'll be seeing even more AI at work and play soon.