OpenAI Spent $34 Billion in 2025: Report

OpenAI brought in $13.07 billion in revenue last year but spent $34 billion to get there, according to audited financial statements first reported by independent journalist Ed Zitron and verified by the Financial Times.

The biggest bill was research and development at $19.18 billion, which covers model training and computing infrastructure. Cost of revenue totalled $7.5 billion, sales and marketing totalled $5.73 billion, and general and administrative expenses totalled $1.57 billion. 

That resulted in an operating loss of $20.92 billion in 2025.

A large chunk of that spending went to Microsoft. According to Zitron's analysis, OpenAI paid Microsoft $17.2 billion during 2025, $10.59 billion of which was classified as research and development, most likely for model training costs. The rest was split across cost of revenue, sales and marketing, and administrative charges.

On the revenue side, SoftBank paid OpenAI $867 million during the year, and Microsoft paid an additional $303 million.

However, Zitron revealed that OpenAI also recorded a $41.55 billion accounting charge triggered by the company’s conversion from a non-profit to a for-profit entity, totalling the loss to $60.35 billion. 

OpenAI brought that figure down to $38.53 billion by removing two line items from its accounts: $17.87 billion described in the filings as “net loss attributable to noncontrolling members’ capital,” and a further $3.95 billion described as “net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests.”

Before that restructuring, investors held convertible interests instead of regular equity. As OpenAI's valuation rose, those instruments had to be revalued upward under accounting rules, creating a large non-cash loss on paper. 

The disclosures come as OpenAI prepares for a public listing. The company confirmed a few days ago that it had confidentially filed a draft S-1 registration statement with the SEC, though it has not announced an IPO timeline.