OpenAI was ahead of everyone in the tech industry by driving the artificial intelligence revolution. The ChatGPT service completely revolutionized the perception of many regarding the true utility of AI. Now, millions of people have the chatbot as a fundamental part of their daily lives. Since then, ChatGPT has become even better. Now, OpenAI has revealed that it has 400 million weekly active users.
ChatGPT made it easier and simpler to access the power of artificial intelligence for the masses. The platform’s free options are enough for the needs of millions of people. However, if you need more advanced features, there are paid plans. OpenAI has also worked hard to make its service more intuitive and easier to use. These efforts have led to a remarkable growth in its active user base.
OpenAI services, such as ChatGPT and others, already have 400 million active users per week
Brad Lightcap, OpenAI’s chief operating officer, sat down with CNBC to talk about the company’s current state of user base. We are in a context where competition in the segment is becoming increasingly fierce. Newcomers like DeepSeek have the potential to grab a large share of the market thanks to their capabilities and low price. However, it seems that OpenAI is still on top despite everything.
According to Lightcap, OpenAI had 400 million weekly active users in February. For reference, the company had 33% fewer active users in December 2024. Lightcap claims that they are in the midst of a “natural progression” as the service becomes more common and well-known among the public. “People hear about it through word of mouth. They see the utility of it. They see their friends using it,” he said. “There’s an overall effect of people really wanting these tools, and seeing that these tools are really valuable.”
OpenAI now also boasts 2 million enterprise users. This number doubles that of September 2024, so the growth is also reflected in these types of customers. Lightcap says the firm gets “a lot of benefits, and a tailwind from the organic consumer adoption where people already have familiarity with the product.” This includes both customers and even employees who use and recommend the tool to other people or companies.
Commercial use has also skyrocketed
OpenAI offers APIs on which external developers can build their apps. Lightcap says that traffic from developers on its APIs doubled in the last half year. It seems that the most popular model for them is GPT-o3. The company’s list of enterprise clients includes Uber, Morgan Stanley, Moderna, and T-Mobile.
Lastly, Lightcap sees cloud services as the equivalent of AI platforms. He believes that the best way to promote and boost a product is when you, as a company, are also a user. “AI is going to be like cloud services. It’s going to be something that you can’t run a business that ultimately is not really running on these very powerful models underneath the surface.“
