What happened
OpenAI's leaked audited financial statements reveal revenue growth from $3.7 billion in 2024 to $13.07 billion in 2025, with monthly revenues nearing $2 billion by late 2025. Despite this, operating losses expanded from $8.78 billion in 2024 to $20.92 billion in 2025. Research and development expenses, including $10.59 billion paid to Microsoft in 2025, reached $19.18 billion in 2025, outpacing revenue. Cost of revenue also increased to $7.5 billion in 2025, reflecting significant inference compute costs.
Why it matters
Investors and founders face increased scrutiny on AI profitability models. OpenAI's expanding operating losses, reaching $20.92 billion in 2025, demonstrate the immense capital requirements for frontier AI development and deployment, particularly in R&D and inference compute. This follows OpenAI's confidential S-1 filing for an IPO, placing pressure on future profitability projections. Procurement teams and CTOs must factor these high operational costs into long-term AI strategy, recognising that scaling advanced models currently demands substantial, sustained investment.
