OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the popular AI chatbot, is proving to be a costly pursuit – and one well worth the investment. According to a new report from The Information, the chatbot’s developments cost OpenAI a staggering $540 million in 2022 alone. More specifically, these costs include $416.45 million for computing and data training, $89.31 million on staff and $38.75 million on operating costs. Additionally, Chief Analyst of semiconductor research firm SemiAnalysis, Dylan Patel, reported to The Information that OpenAI may have to pay as much as $700,000 each day to keep the ChatGPT servers running.
OpenAI is led by the CEO, Sam Altman and the company is estimated to have made $30 million in revenue in 2022. Altman has privately suggested that the company could raise $100 billion as they move closer to creating artificial general intelligence. Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak alluded to Tesla’s AI-powered automated driving system already being dangerous, a story which can be further read from the link provided in the article.
OpenAI’s costs reflect their ambition, and the large sum of money being put into the chatbot is needed to support the investments in data and staff. Altman suggested that OpenAI is on track to become the “most capital-intensive startup in Silicon Valley history” and, aiming for $200 million in 2023 and $1 billion in 2024, their money is going to innovative and paying off. As OpenAI invests in computing and technology, only time will tell if they will prove to be successful in their production of artificial general intelligence.
