OpenAI burned through $34 billion last year, with an expected net loss of $38.5 billion, nearly eight times larger than the previous year.

```

On Tuesday, according to the UK’s Financial Times citing audited financial documents, OpenAI’s total expenditure in 2025 will reach $34 billion, with a net loss of about $38.5 billion. The scale of the loss expands nearly eightfold compared to $5.1 billion in 2024, raising concerns about the financial sustainability of the world’s highest-valued AI company.

Data shows that OpenAI’s 2025 revenue is about $13 billion, but expenses far exceed income, with R&D costs reaching $19.2 billion and sales & marketing expenses close to $5.8 billion. Meanwhile, OpenAI has secretly submitted IPO application documents to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) at the beginning of this month, with some executives and investors predicting a listing as soon as this fall.

It is noteworthy that, according to sources quoted by the Financial Times, most of the $38.5 billion net loss comes from a non-cash accounting expense related to previous equity structure changes within the company and is not expected to recur. After excluding this expense, equity incentives, Microsoft’s computing resource offsets, and other non-cash items, OpenAI’s actual operating loss is about $8 billion.

Behind the huge losses: Structural change triggers over $30 billion in non-cash write-downs

The composition of the $38.5 billion net loss needs to be understood in the context of OpenAI’s corporate restructuring.

In 2025, OpenAI completed its transformation from a nonprofit entity to a Public Benefit Corporation. Prior to this, investors held convertible interests instead of traditional equity. According to US accounting standards, these interests are treated as liabilities and are revalued periodically as the company’s valuation rises.

According to sources, as OpenAI’s valuation continued to surge, changes in the fair value of those investor interests generated about $30 billion in book expenses. Financial documents show total losses of about $41.5 billion related to changes in fair value of convertible interests and warrant liabilities.

Taking into account interest income and other factors, OpenAI’s total net loss in 2025 reached $60.4 billion. Subsequently, about $17.9 billion was assigned to “net loss attributable to non-controlling members” and about $4 billion to “net loss attributable to redeemable non-controlling interests,” ultimately reducing the company’s attributable net loss to $38.5 billion. Sources say these structural expenses are not expected to recur after the transformation is completed.

Operating expenses soar; Microsoft is the largest cost source

Excluding non-cash items, OpenAI’s operational loss is also staggering. Financial documents show that its operating loss for 2025 reaches $20.9 billion, compared to $8.8 billion in 2024.

On the spending side, R&D costs jumped from $7.8 billion in 2024 to $19.2 billion; sales & marketing expenses rose from $1.1 billion to $5.7 billion; and cost of revenue increased from $2.7 billion to $7.5 billion.

Microsoft is OpenAI’s largest single cost source. Financial documents show OpenAI’s payments to Microsoft in 2025 total about $17.2 billion, including $10.6 billion for R&D (mainly considered model training costs), $6 billion for revenue costs, $527 million for sales & marketing, and $42 million for general administrative expenses. Meanwhile, Microsoft paid OpenAI $303 million; SoftBank paid $867 million.

By the end of 2025, OpenAI’s total assets slightly exceeded $50 billion, nearly half of which was cash. Earlier this year, the company completed a $12.2 billion financing round, with a valuation (excluding new investments) of $730 billion at that time.

Rapid revenue growth fails to clarify profitability path; IPO window approaches

Despite massive losses, OpenAI’s revenue growth remains exceptional. Full-year 2025 revenue is about $13 billion, more than 2.5 times the $3.7 billion in 2024. By the end of 2025, the company’s monthly revenue reached $2 billion, while quarterly revenue at the end of 2024 was just about $1 billion.

However, fast revenue growth has not been enough to cover a constantly expanding cost curve. Total expenditures in 2025 reached $34 billion, more than 2.6 times revenue, indicating a significant gap between scale expansion and profitability.

Against this backdrop, OpenAI is accelerating its IPO process. The company has secretly submitted listing documents to the SEC this month. CEO Sam Altman characterized this as preserving the option to enter public markets, and indicated that staying private may remain viable. Some executives and investors predict a listing as soon as this fall, when OpenAI will directly compete with Anthropic—which also submitted IPO documents this month and is valued at $900 billion.

Risk Warning and DisclaimerMarkets involve risks, investments require caution. This article does not constitute personal investment advice, nor does it take into account individual users’ special investment goals, financial status, or needs. Users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article are suitable for their specific situation. Investments made based on this article are at your own risk. ```