AI startup OpenAI announced on Thursday that its popular chatbot, ChatGPT, has now exceeded 200 million weekly active users, doubling the user base it had during the last fall season.
Launched in 2022, ChatGPT quickly gained traction for its ability to generate human-like responses based on user prompts. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed in November that the chatbot had reached 100 million weekly active users.
The widespread adoption of OpenAI’s products is reflected in its customer base, with 92 percent of Fortune 500 companies now utilizing its technology. Additionally, the use of OpenAI’s Application Programming Interface (API) has doubled since the introduction of the GPT-4o mini model in July. The GPT-4o mini, a cost-efficient and smaller AI model, was developed to make AI technology more affordable and less energy-intensive, broadening OpenAI’s customer base.
ChatGPT’s rapid rise in popularity has significantly boosted the valuation of San Francisco-based OpenAI, driving the company to the forefront of the AI industry. In a separate development, OpenAI and fellow AI startup Anthropic have signed agreements with the U.S. government to collaborate on research, testing, and evaluation of their AI models, as announced by the U.S. Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute.
Media reports indicate that tech giants Apple and Nvidia are in talks to invest in OpenAI as part of a new fundraising round that could value the ChatGPT creator at over $100 billion. Microsoft, a key backer of OpenAI, is also expected to participate in the investment round, further solidifying its support for the AI leader.
The funding round is expected to be led by venture capital firm Thrive Capital, which is poised to invest approximately $1 billion.
