OpenAI sees $11.6 billion in revenue next year and gives Thrive chance to invest again in 2025 By Reuters

By Krystal Hu and Kenrick Cai

(Reuters) – Thrive Capital is investing more than $1 billion of OpenAI’s current $6.5 billion fundraising round, and it has a sweetener that other investors aren’t getting: the potential to invest another $1 billion this year future at the same valuation if the AI ​​firm hits a revenue target, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

OpenAI expects its revenue to soar to $11.6 billion next year from about $3.7 billion in 2024, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Losses are expected to reach $5 billion this year, largely dependent on their spending on computing power that could change, one of the sources added.

The current funding round, which comes in the form of convertible debt, is expected to close by the end of next week and could value OpenAI at $150 billion, cementing its status as one of the world’s most valuable private companies .

The valuation depends on completing a complicated restructuring to remove control of its not-for-profit board and also remove the cap on investment returns for investors, a plan first reported by Reuters. There is no specific timeline for when the conversion could be completed.

Thrive Capital, which also led OpenAI’s previous funding round, is offering $1.2 billion from a combination of equity and a special purpose vehicle for smaller investors. Other investors in the new round include Microsoft (NASDAQ: ), Apple (NASDAQ: ), Nvidia (NASDAQ: ) and Khosla Ventures.

The others did not have the option for future investments at the current price, sources said. OpenAI’s valuation has risen rapidly, and if it continues to do so, Thrive could find itself increasing its stake next year at a discounted price.

Reuters could not determine the revenue target associated with the option for Thrive, which was founded by Joshua Kushner.

Thrive and OpenAI declined to comment.

OpenAI’s revenue expectations far exceed CEO Sam Altman’s previous forecast of $1 billion this year. Its main sources of revenue are sales of its services to corporations and subscriptions to its chatbot.

Its flagship product, ChatGPT, is expected to bring in $2.7 billion in revenue this year, jumping from $700 million in 2023. The chatbot service, which charges a fee of $20 each month, has approximately 10 million paying users.

The financials and details of Thrive’s additional option were first reported by the New York Times on Friday.