OpenAI is spending money at an unprecedented rate. The AI technology leader has been rapidly scaling both model development, compute resources, and corporate footprint. 

According to audited 2025 financial figures originally reported by journalist Ed Zitron and confirmed by the Financial Times, OpenAI’s costs are outpacing its revenue growth in a fiercely competitive market.

The Massive 2025 Cost Breakdown

OpenAI spent $34 billion in 2025 alone. This huge budget has $19 billion set aside for research and development and $6 billion for sales and marketing.

The good news is the business is growing rapidly. OpenAI’s revenue for the year was $13 billion. At the end of 2025, monthly income of $2 billion was achieved. It represents a significant increase from the $1 billion quarterly run rate at the end of 2024.

Separating Paper Losses From Reality

OpenAI suffered a whopping $39 billion in net losses for 2024, compared with $5 billion the year before. However, a closer look shows that this loss is mostly an accounting technicality.

Investors once had convertible interest rights prior to OpenAI’s transition to becoming a public benefit corporation. In the United States, such rights are booked as liabilities. As OpenAI’s valuation soared, the company had to record a one-time, non-cash charge of $30 billion. 

This charge will not happen again. Apart from this paperwork charge, stock compensation and Microsoft cloud credits, OpenAI’s real operational loss came to $8bn.

The Race for a Historic Valuation

Investors are eagerly funding OpenAI’s aggressive expansion. The company gave a total of $122 billion in new capital at a valuation of $730 billion. Now, OpenAI has confidentially filed IPO paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company aims at ending up on the public markets, potentially raising its valuation to more than $1 trillion.

To get ready, Chief Executive Sam Altman is heavily investing in corporate AI tools. The company even canceled high-cost investments like video maker Sora to preserve cash. OpenAI is planning to go public as soon as this fall. The timeline sets up a high-stakes race with other rival Anthropic, which also filed the paperwork for an IPO after raising $65 billion while valuing itself at $900 billion.