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Why Is OpenAI Turning Into a Total Disaster?

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Why Is OpenAI Turning Into a Total Disaster?

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274 segments

0:00

In less than a decade, Open AI became

0:02

one of the most powerful companies in

0:03

the entire world.

0:04

>> Here's how Altman built OpenAI from a

0:06

niche research lab into an 86 billion

0:09

dollar ring leader of the generative AI

0:11

boom. Chat GPT, OpenAI's main product,

0:13

quickly became widely popular, reaching

0:15

a staggering 100 million regular users.

0:18

>> AI chatbot Chat GPT is now the fastest

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growing consumer app in history. That's

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according to analysis by Swiss bank UBS.

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It's estimated to have hit 100 million

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active users in January, just two months

0:31

after launch.

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>> This led the company to begin investing

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billions of dollars at the beginning of

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2023. However, these expenses no longer

0:39

guarantee improvements in its models.

0:41

>> They signed a $10 billion deal there.

0:43

He's diversifying his chip exposure with

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AMD, with Nvidia. Uh we'll see if they

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ultimately decide to sign with AWS.

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>> According to a study, OpenAI currently

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operates with losses of around $200

0:53

million every month. even if they are

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losing a lot of money at the moment for

0:57

every customer they serve, even those in

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the top subscription tiers.

1:00

>> Because of this, the company is taking

1:02

desperate measures. It is estimated that

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so far in 2026, the company has placed

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ads in around 90% of all its products

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worldwide.

1:10

>> In January, OpenI began unveiling plans

1:12

to introduce ads for free users and chat

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GBT Go subscribers in the United States.

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>> Added to this is the instability within

1:20

the company's leadership. As in 2025

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alone, around 10 high-ranking executives

1:25

resigned from their positions due to

1:27

differences with Sam Alman's leadership.

1:29

>> But this has absolutely been a trend for

1:31

OpenAI. Bulk of its co-founders are now

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gone. You have names like Ilia

1:34

Sutzkavar, co-founder, left earlier this

1:36

year. John Schulman and Yan Ley went

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over to rival Anthropic. Greg Brockman,

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one of the founders, is on a leave of

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absence. The list, all these factors

1:44

have caused this colossal company, a

1:46

pioneer in AI to begin facing problems

1:48

they may never have imagined. So why is

1:51

open AI falling behind in the AI race?

1:54

In recent years, artificial intelligence

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stopped being a distant idea and became

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an everyday tool for millions of people.

2:01

Thus, OpenAI managed to quickly position

2:04

itself as one of the most influential

2:05

organizations in the technological

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world. Its main platform reached more

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than 150 million users in less than 2

2:12

months, marking one of the fastest

2:14

growth rates in digital history. This

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growth positioned Open AI as a leader in

2:18

the sector and led users to have high

2:20

expectations for innovation. However, as

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the company continued to expand, small

2:25

problems began to emerge, revealing a

2:27

more complex reality. It is estimated

2:29

that its operating costs grew by more

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than 70% in just a few years, driven by

2:34

the need to sustain increasingly large

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and demanding systems. At the same time,

2:38

revenue did not grow at the same pace,

2:40

which began to create a very large gap

2:42

between what the company earned and what

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it spent. In this way, what was once a

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phase of rapid growth turned into a more

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uncertain situation. The company now

2:50

faces problems that cast doubt on its

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future stability.

2:53

>> There's a sizable section of people that

2:55

would love to see this company go down

2:56

in flames. And if things continue just

2:59

the way they are, they just may get

3:01

their wish. There's talk of the whole

3:02

company going bankrupt by 2027.

3:04

>> One of the most important problems the

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company faces is that technological

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advances are no longer as significant as

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they were in its early stages. During

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the first years, each new version

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represented a meaningful change that

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improved the user experience and

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increased interest in the platform.

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However, this dynamic has begun to

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change. Although investment in

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technology has multiplied by 10 in some

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cases, the results obtained have not

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grown in the same way. This indicates

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that the effort required is increasingly

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greater, but the impact is smaller.

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>> If you look at how much money the

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company is bleeding, what the general

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analysis has been is that at this rate,

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Open AI will not last very long. they'll

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run out of cash very soon, even with all

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the investments that they're getting

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from other companies.

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>> In addition, current improvements barely

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reach 15% compared to previous versions.

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This means that advances are becoming

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slower and less noticeable for users.

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Compared to the past, where changes were

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evident and rapid, evolution is now more

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gradual and less surprising, and this is

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directly affecting public perception.

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When improvements stop being clear,

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interest also decreases, making it

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harder to maintain the same level of

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growth. ChatGpt usage also stalled in

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late 2025. Average daily time spent per

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user dropped from 27 minutes to 21

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minutes.

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>> Another key aspect of the crisis is the

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company's financial situation. Despite

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being one of the leading companies in

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artificial intelligence, its operating

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costs are extremely high. It is

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estimated that it can spend up to $5

4:28

million per day to keep its services

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active and running efficiently. On the

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other hand, revenue is not sufficient to

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cover these expenses. It is calculated

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that it only reaches around 60% of what

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is needed to sustain operations. This

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forces the company to constantly rely on

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external investments to continue

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operating. This situation becomes more

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concerning over time. Compared to other

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tech companies that manage to stabilize

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their finances in a few years, OpenAI

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continues to accumulate losses. This

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difference reflects a structural problem

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in its business model. While costs

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continue to rise, revenue does not grow

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at the same rate, increasing the risk of

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a deeper financial crisis.

5:05

>> Costs here are very high. You got data

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centers, chips, talent, all of which are

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key to building one of the leading AI

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systems. I'm also hearing the company is

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still in discussions right now to raise

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as much as $40 billion in private

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markets. Faced with this situation, the

5:18

company has begun to desperately search

5:20

for new ways to generate revenue. One of

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the most recent strategies is the

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incorporation of advertising into its

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services, representing an important

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shift in its original approach. It is

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estimated that this measure could

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increase revenue by 20% which would help

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reduce part of the financial problem.

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However, this increase is not enough to

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fully cover current costs. Additionally,

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this decision may affect the user

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experience. Studies show that six out of

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10 people prefer platforms without ads,

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indicating that this change could cause

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discomfort. Compared to other platforms

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that were built with advertising, this

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type of adjustment may be harder to

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accept. Users are already accustomed to

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an uninterrupted service, so any change

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may affect their perception.

6:00

>> Open AAI recently announced that they're

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going to be rolling out ads in Chat GBT

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to its 900 plus million free users in

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the next coming weeks.

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>> At the same time, competition has grown

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significantly. In its early years,

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OpenAI had a clear advantage over other

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companies, allowing it to lead the

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market without major difficulties.

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However, that gap has narrowed over

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time. Currently, at least four major

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companies offer similar services,

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increasing the options available to

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users. An important case is Google,

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which has developed its own artificial

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intelligence system called Gemini. This

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model has been integrated directly into

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products already used by millions of

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people, giving it an advantage in

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distribution and access. In addition, it

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is estimated that seven out of 10 users

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of digital services already use tools

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linked to Google, making it easier to

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adopt Gemini without needing to switch

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platforms. This has caused Open AI to

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gradually lose its leadership in AI

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models. Compared to the past, when

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options were limited, the market is now

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much more competitive. This situation

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forces Open AAI to constantly improve to

7:01

remain relevant against rivals like

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Google and its Gemini system. how

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quickly OpenAI's dominance is

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diminishing with Google's Gemini in

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particular catching up at a very rapid

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pace, not only in terms of market share,

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but also from a technological

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standpoint.

7:16

>> Another important factor is the

7:17

company's internal situation. In recent

7:19

years, several top executives have left

7:21

their positions, creating uncertainty

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about the organization's direction. It

7:25

is estimated that more than 25% of key

7:28

leaders have departed in a relatively

7:30

short period. A clear example of this is

7:32

that Sam Alman himself was dismissed by

7:34

the board in 2023. Although this

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departure was temporary and he returned

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to his position days later, it marked

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clear instability within the company's

7:42

leadership. Moreover, this instability

7:45

has begun to spread to employees as

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well. Around 40% of employees believe

7:49

there is no clear direction within the

7:50

company. This perception can affect team

7:52

motivation and performance. Compared to

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other more stable companies, this

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situation raises doubts about its

7:58

ability to face current challenges. And

8:00

a lot of that also relates to this

8:02

tension which I think we're sort of

8:04

seeing come to a head here in the idea

8:07

of of commercializing um and profiting

8:09

from AI.

8:10

>> Investment commitments represent another

8:12

major challenge. The company has planned

8:14

large infrastructure expenses for the

8:16

coming years to maintain its growth.

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However, these investments are estimated

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to exceed $100 billion, implying a very

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high financial burden. Yet today,

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OpenAI's revenues are no longer

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sufficient to cover these high costs.

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Compared to other companies that grow in

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a more controlled way, this approach

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involves greater risk. If revenues do

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not increase, the situation could become

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unsustainable.

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>> Despite that revenue jump, it's not

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translating to profits. Yet, OpenAI,

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according to this source, does not

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expect to be cash flow positive until

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2029.

8:46

>> OpenAI faces a very complex crisis where

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several problems are interconnected. As

8:51

with fewer advances compared to

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competitors and its high costs, the

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company is falling behind. If Open AI

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does not manage to adapt to these

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changes and finds a balance between

9:00

innovation and sustainability, this

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could become an even more difficult

9:04

problem to solve over time.

9:08

>> At Economy Media, your opinion matters

9:11

to us. Subscribe and let us know what

9:13

you think in the comments below.

Interactive Summary

This video examines the rapid ascent and subsequent crisis of OpenAI. Despite its early dominance and record-breaking user adoption, the company currently faces severe financial instability due to massive operating costs that far outweigh its revenue. Additionally, the company struggles with diminishing technological innovation returns, intense competition from rivals like Google, and significant leadership turmoil, all of which threaten its long-term viability.

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