--- title: "AI Industry Nervous About Small Detail: They’re Not Making Any Real Money" description: "The AI industry is struggling to make a dent in its expenditures, as the vast majority of users remain content to use its free model." date: "2025-08-08" modified: "2025-08-08" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/ai-industry-nervous-money" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai hype" - "chatgpt" - "OpenAI" --- # AI Industry Nervous About Small Detail: They’re Not Making Any Real Money ![The AI industry is struggling to make a dent in its expenditures, as the vast majority of users remain content to use its free model.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* Like it or not, it's safe to assume AI will be a conversation that defines the rest of the 2020s. The recent launch of OpenAI's latest model, GPT-5, comes as ChatGPT ascends to the [fifth most-visited website]() in the world, ahead of Wikipedia, Reddit, TikTok and Amazon. In just three short years, the software has [upended education](), scrambled the [tech labor sector](), and ushered in something of a pandemic of chatbot-related [mental health problems](). But for all those [technocratic bona fides](), the software that's said to be kicking off the next industrial revolution has one major hurdle to clear: it has yet to make any real money. Despite some terrific promises about GPT-5's capabilities — OpenAI CEO Sam Altman went as far as to compare the chatbot update [to the Manhattan Project]() last month — the model's actual improvements are [seriously underwhelming](), putting a damper on our timeline to reach the AI singularity. While that doesn't really change much for the average Joe, it does tighten the immense financial pressure facing OpenAI and its peers. Thanks to the ridiculous cost of running millions of [energy-intensive]() AI queries every day, the company is struggling to make a dent in its expenditures, as the vast majority of users remain content to use its free model. Out of 700 million weekly users, OpenAI says only [5 million]() of them actively pay for their services. Put into monetary terms, in 2024, OpenAI was burning through [$2.50 for every dollar]() it brought in. Given that most successful startups take anywhere from 3-5 years to [turn a profit](), that might not necessarily sound like a death knell. After all, they're going to keep growing, right? However, [current analysis]() suggests that OpenAI — now six years into its [growth strategy]() — won't reach a positive cash flow until 2029 at the earliest, and that's if everything goes according to plan. That might be well and good in China, where low-cost AI architects like [DeepSeek]() are free to prioritize long-term research and development without pressure from [third-party investors](). But in the US, where a few massive tech monopolies rule the roost, time is money — and firms like OpenAI are spending their investors' cash like [water going through a data center](). As [*Reuters* pointed]() out in a recent analysis, Alphabet, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft — the latter of which is backing OpenAI — expect to spend upwards of [$400 billion]() to keep the AI dream alive in 2025 alone. The promise of that kind of spending has sent tech shares through the roof, with Microsoft becoming the world's [second $4 trillion company]() this summer. Those numbers might sound high now, but what they really signal is investor confidence that companies like OpenAI — currently valued at a hefty [$300 billion]() — will continue to grow in a way [never before seen]() in history. Whether they'll ultimately succeed depends on the tech itself. If the [lackluster release]() of GPT-5 is any indication, the tech industry has a long climb ahead of it — and it's all loose rock from here. **More on AI:** [*If the AI Bubble Pops, It Could Now Take the Entire Economy With It*]() ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()