OpenAI’s $122B Raise, Sora Axed

$852 billion valuation, $122 billion fresh cash, and a clock that’s ticking. OpenAI is hugely used, with $2 billion in monthly revenue, 900 million weekly active users, and over 50 million subscribers, yet it still loses money as compute costs climb. With The Guardian projecting up to half a trillion in infrastructure spend by 2030, OpenAI is axing compute-hungry bets, killing Sora and a $1 billion Disney tie-up, ending Instant Checkout, and refocusing on enterprise customers ahead of a possible 2026 IPO.

But here’s the catch: margin will hinge on enterprise lock-in and a careful ad ramp while rivals and platforms close in. New Codex plugins package skills and integrations for one-click, governed deployments, a bid to win seats as Anthropic and Google race on agents. Apple may let Claude and Gemini plug into Siri, cutting default advantage. Ads are the bridge, already at $100M annualized in a six-week pilot with sub-20% ad load and 600+ advertisers, self-serve opening in April.

Based on reporting from CNBC, Reuters, The Guardian, Ars Technica, The Verge, Axios, Search Engine Land, and TechCrunch.

Powered by Apisod.com