OpenAI Losses Increased Nearly 8X in 2025, with Spending Hitting $34B

OpenAI's losses surged to $38.5 billion in 2025, up from $5.09 billion in 2024, as spending hit $34 billion against $13.07 billion in revenue, according to audited financial documents. The massive losses were driven by $19.18 billion in research and development costs and a $41.55 billion charge from converting to a for-profit entity. OpenAI paid Microsoft $17.2 billion for services, including $10.59 billion for research and development.

Soundtrack: In Flames - Colony To further support my independent journalism, please subscribe to my premium newsletter. It’s $7 a month or $70 a year. If you’re subscribed to the free newsletter and logged in, you should see at the bottom right hand corner of your screen a little circle you can click, and you’ll be able to sign up for premium. Today, I can exclusively report, based on audited financial documents viewed by this publication that have been independently verified by the Financial Times, that OpenAI lost around $38.5 billion in 2025, as well as other crucial details about the financial condition of the company. Due to the seriousness of this story, I am not going to do very much editorializing, as the numbers speak for themselves. OpenAI Lost $5.09 Billion In 2024 2024 — OpenAI Had $3.7 Billion In Revenue, $12.4 Billion In Costs and Expenses, and a net loss attributable to the company of $5.09 Billion. OpenAI’s financial statements tell the story of a company with incredible losses. Revenue: $3.7 billion Cost of Revenue: $2.65 billion Research and Development: $7.81 billion Sales and Marketing: $1.11 billion General and Administrative: $907 Million Total Costs and Expenses: $12.48 billion Loss from Operations: $8.78 billion Additional factors – including interest income and interest expense – left it with a net loss of $8.84 billion. It then marked $3.74 billion of losses as “net loss attributable to noncontrolling members capital,” leaving the net loss attributable to the company as $5.09 billion. It’s unclear what this means, nor how OpenAI reconciled the removal of $3.74 billion in costs. I will not speculate further. OpenAI Lost $38.5 Billion In 2025 2025 — OpenAI Had $13.07 Billion In Revenue, $34 Billion In Costs and Expenses, and $20.92 Billion In Losses, with a net loss attributable to the company of $38.53 Billion Revenue: $13.07 billion Cost of Revenue: $7.5 billion Research and Development: $19.18 billion Sales and Marketing: $5.73 billion General and Administrative: $1.57 Billion Total Costs and Expenses: $34 billion Loss from Operations: $20.92 billion Please note that 2025 was the year that OpenAI converted from a non-profit to a for-profit entity, leading to a $41.55 billion loss due to changes in fair value of convertible interests and warrant liability. Taking into account other minor factors like interest income and interest expense, OpenAI is left with a net loss of $60.35 billion, which it lowered to $38.53 billion by removing $17.87 billion in costs via that “net loss attributable to noncontrolling members capital” and another $3.95 billion via a “net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests.” Ultimately, the net loss attributable to OpenAI in 2025 was $38.5 billion. At the end of the year, OpenAI had just over $50 billion in assets, with almost half of that in cash. OpenAI Was Paid $867 Million By SoftBank and $303 Million From Microsoft In 2025 In 2025, SoftBank paid OpenAI $867 million. Microsoft paid it $303 million. The documents revealed how much OpenAI paid Microsoft for services. In the 2025 calendar year, OpenAI paid Microsoft $10.59 billion for “Research and development” expenses. We believe this most likely refers to the cost of training OpenAI’s models. The documents also mention a $6.047 billion charge related to “cost of revenue,” a $527 million charge for sales and marketing, and $42 million in “general and administrative expenses.” In total, OpenAI’s expenses to Microsoft amounted to $17.2 billion. According to the figures, OpenAI had liabilities to Microsoft of $3.64 billion at the close of the calendar year, and additional $21 million in “accrued expenses and other current liabilities.” The documents also mention a further $58 million in non-current liabilities. Further Notes I intend to follow up this story in the next month with more in-depth reporting related to the documents. The documents are detailed, and I need time to fully parse them. Once I have done so, you’ll know. The financial condition of OpenAI is deeply concerning. $38.53 billion in losses are astronomical, and far higher than most believed it would be. Losses also appear to be mounting year-over-year at a dramatic rate, and I’m not sure how this company finds a way toward any kind of sustainability or profitability. As discussed, I have not editorialized much today. I believe the best thing I can do for the general public is to deliver this news as plainly as possible. As I mentioned at the beginning, if you liked this piece, you should subscribe to my premium newsletter. It’s $70 a year, or $7 a month, and in return you get a weekly newsletter that’s usually anywhere from 5,000 to 18,000 words, including vast, detailed analyses of NVIDIA https://www.wheresyoured.at/the-haters-guide-to-nvidia/ , , and https://www.wheresyoured.at/howmuchmoney/ Anthropic and OpenAI’s finances . 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