While secretly submitting IPO documents, OpenAI’s 2025 audited financial data was exposed for the first time.Full-year expenses were US$34 billion, revenue was only US$13 billion, and net loss was as high as US$38.5 billion.——The scale of losses surged nearly 8 times compared with the previous year.
Where was the $34 billion spent?
According to audit data obtained by Ed Zitron and independently verified by the Financial Times, OpenAI’s 2025 spending structure is disturbingly clear.The largest single expense was eye-popping: $17.2 billion paid to Microsoft——This alone exceeds OpenAI’s total revenue of $13.07 billion for the whole year.
in other words,Every penny OpenAI makes is not enough to pay Microsoft’s computing power bill.
The truth behind the 38.5 billion loss
This astronomical figure needs to be broken down.Actual operating losses were approximately $8 billion.
In terms of revenue, US$13 billion has increased (about three times) compared with 2024, but the growth rate has not outpaced the cost expansion.Revenue growth is crushed by cost growth, this is a risk that every IPO investor must face.
What does this mean for the AI industry?
OpenAI’s financial data reveals a core dilemma for the AI industry:Scaling does not automatically lead to profitability.Cursor.
For the entire industry, OpenAI’s financial exposure is a sobering signal: the commercialization path of AI is far longer and more expensive than advertised.
Summary: The Naked Swimmer Behind the Trillion Valuation
OpenAI’s 2025 financial report exposed an embarrassing fact: when the computing power fee you pay to the largest shareholder every year exceeds all revenue, no matter how amazing the technology is, the business model does not hold.
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