OpenAI’s astounding growth rate potential is luring possible investors as questions loom over whether the startup will go public.
“In terms of a multiple to pay for stock like ours, there’s incredible interest at the moment,” finance chief Sarah Friar told CNBC’s David Faber on Thursday. Its future growth potential has also enabled OpenAI to “achieve valuations that are on par with the growth rate of the scale” it is reaching.
Friar also called the possibility of the company achieving $11 billion in revenue within the “realm of possibility,” adding that the ChatGPT maker’s pace of innovation has prevented it from becoming a “commodity.”
Despite its rise to prominence, the startup is losing cash. CNBC confirmed in September that OpenAI projected $5 billion in losses on $3.7 billion in revenue for 2024.
“We have managed to punch well above our weight to become effectively a hyperscaler, both in terms of the compute that we’re buying and the way we’re investing in it,” she said.
A hyperscaler refers to the major cloud computing companies with massive data centers that can rapidly size up to meet shifting storage and demands. Some of the key players with major cloud units include Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta.
The interview with Friar comes during a pivotal time, with the startup reportedly in talks to close a $40 billion investment from SoftBank that would value it at almost $300 billion. The company was also announced last month as part of President Donald Trump’s Stargate AI infrastructure project.
Earlier this month, CEO Sam Altman rejected a more than $97 billion bid from co-founder Elon Musk and a group of investors to take control of the startup. The billionaire and Tesla CEO is also suing OpenAI for breach of contract as it attempts to convert into a for-profit corporation.
Friar appeared unbothered by the recent noise from Musk, telling CNBC that OpenAI remains focused on its mission to make search, research and other tasks easier for their users.
“We are eyes on the prize, which is, how do we keep growing our business,” she said. “You see it in our numbers.”
OpenAI announced Thursday that it has surpassed 400 million users even as it faces ongoing competition in the space.
