Your ChatGPT subscription may soon become more expensive
ChatGPT, OpenAI’s artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, is reportedly about to become more expensive for paying subscribers. According to a new report, the AI company plans to increase the subscription price for ChatGPT Plus users by $2 (approximately Rs. 167) per month. The price hike is not expected to stop there either as the company will hike the monthly subscription fee to $44 (approximately Rs. 3,685) over the next five years. The reason behind the push for a higher ticket price is said to be OpenAI’s revenue ambition and expensive operating costs.
ChatGPT subscriptions are reportedly becoming more expensive
According to According to The New York Times, the AI company plans to increase the subscription price by $2 by the end of 2024. Citing financial documents reviewed by the publication, the report further added that the final price of the ChatGPT Plus subscription could reach $44 per year. month by the end of 2029, a steep climb from the current $20 per month in the US or Rs. 1,950 per month in India.
With the price hike, the company is reportedly aiming to secure a revenue of $100 billion (approximately Rs. 8.3 lakh crore) by 2029, most of which is expected to come from its subscription-based services. If the AI company can achieve this goal, it would achieve annual revenue comparable to that of Reliance Industries, Nestlé or Comcast. According to the report, OpenAI currently has around 10 million ChatGPT Plus users.
The documents reviewed by the publication and intended for the investors and OpenAI reportedly highlighted that it currently makes “billions” from ChatGPT, and expects the numbers to rise significantly in the coming years. It is notable that the company is in the process of closing a financing round.
Despite the big numbers forecast in the revenue estimate, the company is reportedly struggling to optimize operating costs. OpenAI is expected to lose around $5 billion (approximately Rs. 41.8 thousand crore) this year, most of which will go to its AI-powered services. Other important costs include employee salaries and office rent.
Another major source of costs is reportedly cloud computing, for which the company uses Microsoft’s services. Despite receiving $13 billion (approximately Rs. 1.08 lakh crore) annually from the partnership, the AI company is spending a large chunk of that money on running cloud processing.
