OpenAI recorded a net loss of around $38.5 billion in 2025, according to audited financial documents obtained by independent journalist Ed Zitron and independently verified by the Financial Times .
The loss increased sharply from just over $5 billion in 2024, despite strong growth in revenue.
OpenAI generated $13.07 billion in revenue during 2025, up from $3.7 billion a year earlier. However, its total costs and expenses increased from $12.48 billion in 2024 to $34 billion in 2025.
Research and development was the company’s largest expense at $19.18 billion. OpenAI also spent $7.5 billion on the cost of revenue, $5.73 billion on sales and marketing, and $1.57 billion on general and administrative expenses.
OpenAI’s loss from operations increased from $8.78 billion in 2024 to $20.92 billion in 2025. However, operating losses showed a slight improvement when measured against revenue.
The company’s operating loss was equal to 237% of revenue in 2024, compared with 160% in 2025.
The headline net loss of almost $39 billion included a large non-cash accounting charge linked to OpenAI’s previous investor structure.
Before its conversion to a public benefit corporation, investors held convertible interests instead of conventional shares.
As OpenAI’s valuation increased, accounting rules required the company to record the rising value of those interests as a liability.
The Financial Times reported that this created a charge of roughly $30 billion. Excluding that charge and other non-cash expenses, including stock-based compensation and Microsoft computing credits, OpenAI’s losses were around $8 billion.
At the end of 2025, OpenAI held slightly more than $50 billion in assets. Almost half of those assets were held in cash.
Zitron said the scale and rapid growth of the losses raised concerns about OpenAI’s path towards sustainability and profitability. OpenAI has told investors that it aims to become profitable by 2030.
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