OpenAI
OpenAI is a San Francisco-based AI research and deployment company that builds and commercializes frontier foundation models (GPT-5.6, o-series, Codex, Sora, DALL-E, Whisper), serving 900M+ weekly ChatGPT consumers, 50M+ paid subscribers, enterprise customers including HP and Morgan Stanley, and a global developer API platform.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What OpenAI does
OpenAI is a San Francisco-headquartered AI research and deployment company, founded in 2015 and operating under a hybrid nonprofit (OpenAI Foundation) / for-profit public benefit corporation (OpenAI Group) structure. It develops and commercializes frontier AI models across text, image, video, audio, and code modalities — including the GPT-5.6 family (Sol/Terra/Luna), o-series reasoning models, Codex for software development, DALL-E for image generation, Sora 2 for video, Whisper for speech, and Voice Engine for synthetic voice. Its product surface spans consumer (ChatGPT), developer (OpenAI API with Agents SDK, Responses API, Realtime API), and enterprise tiers (ChatGPT Business, Enterprise, Education, Frontier, Daybreak, GPT-Rosalind), supported by more than 30 third-party integrations spanning CRM, data, productivity, and financial-data systems. Distribution is hybrid: self-serve product-led growth via chatgpt.com and platform.openai.com, supplemented by field enterprise sales and an implementation-partner network including Accenture, HP, and Oracle. The company is reportedly preparing for a public listing, with a confidential S-1 filed in June 2026.
OpenAI firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- OpenAI
- Legal name
- OpenAI
- Website
- https://openai.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Short description
- OpenAI is a San Francisco-based AI research and deployment company that builds and commercializes frontier foundation models (GPT-5.6, o-series, Codex, Sora, DALL-E, Whisper), serving 900M+ weekly ChatGPT consumers, 50M+ paid subscribers, enterprise customers including HP and Morgan Stanley, and a global developer API platform.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
OpenAI industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Generative AI Foundation Models
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- AI Application Enablement Platforms (Copilot/Agent Frameworks, SDKs) (HDAEANAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Model Transparency, Explainability & Interpretability (XAI) (HDAAAMAB)
Keywords
Where OpenAI is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
OpenAI business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- ChatGPT Subscriptions: Consumer subscription revenue from ChatGPT Plus ($20/month), Pro, and Team tiers. Also includes ChatGPT Enterprise licensing.
- API Platform: Usage-based API access to GPT models, Codex, and other models. Developers pay per token based on model tier used.
- Enterprise Licensing: ChatGPT Enterprise and Business licenses with dedicated support, security features, and administrative controls for large organizations.
- Advertising: OpenAI is introducing advertising in ChatGPT free and Go tiers, generating approximately $100 million in annualized ad revenue.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | GPT-5.6 Sol - Flagship model |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | GPT-5.6 Terra - Balanced performance |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | GPT-5.6 Luna - Fast and affordable |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | GPT-5.5 - Previous flagship |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | GPT-5.4 - Capable model |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | GPT-5.4 mini - Efficient option |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels7 records
OpenAI product offering
Product offeringCore offering
OpenAI develops and deploys frontier artificial intelligence foundation models (GPT series, o-series reasoning, Codex, DALL-E, Sora, Whisper, Voice Engine) and delivers them through three primary channels: the ChatGPT consumer assistant (Free, Plus, Pro, Team tiers) for individual users, the OpenAI API Platform with usage-based pricing for developers embedding AI in applications, and ChatGPT Enterprise/Business tiers with administrative controls, security, and dedicated support for large organizations. The company also offers specialized products including Daybreak cybersecurity tools, GPT-Rosalind for life sciences, and the Frontier enterprise deployment platform, with approximately 900 million weekly active users across its consumer products.
Product overview
OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company offering a platform of interconnected products centered on its GPT and o-series foundation models. The core consumer offering is ChatGPT (available in Free, Plus, Pro, Team, Business, and Enterprise tiers) powered by GPT-5.6, GPT-5.5, GPT-5.4, and GPT-5.3 models, supplemented by Sora for video generation, DALL-E for image generation, Whisper for speech recognition, and Voice Engine for synthetic voice. For developers, OpenAI provides the API Platform with Agents SDK, Responses API, and Realtime API for building AI-powered applications. Codex serves as the primary AI coding assistant with role-specific plugins for data analytics, sales, creative production, product design, and investment research. Daybreak is the cybersecurity platform including Codex Security and GPT-5.5-Cyber for vulnerability discovery and patching. GPT-Rosalind addresses life sciences research. The company also develops custom silicon (Jalapeño with Broadcom) and the Frontier enterprise platform for organizational deployment.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- ChatGPT: AI chatbot platform for writing, research, building, and problem-solving - the company's flagship consumer product with over 900 million weekly active users
- Codex
- DALL-E
- Sora
- Whisper
- Voice Engine
- GPT
- o series
- Daybreak
- Frontier
- GPT-Rosalind
- Rosalind Biodefense
- OpenAI API
- ChatGPT Enterprise
- ChatGPT for Clinicians
- OpenAI for Healthcare
- OpenAI Foundation
- OpenAI Group
Products and services
- ChatGPT OpenAI's flagship conversational AI assistant for individual consumers, powered by GPT foundation models, supporting text, image, voice, and video interactions with memory capabilities and serving 900+ million weekly active users.
- ChatGPT Enterprise Enterprise tier of ChatGPT with enhanced security, administrative controls, dedicated account team, and prioritized support for large organizations including SOC 2 Type 2 and HIPAA compliance.
- ChatGPT Business Business tier providing ChatGPT capabilities with enterprise-grade security and administrative controls for mid-market organizations.
- ChatGPT for Education Specialized ChatGPT tier for educational institutions supporting lesson planning, tutoring, and academic research workflows.
- Codex AI-powered coding assistant platform for software development, writing, reviewing, debugging, refactoring, and migrating code across multiple programming languages, with role-specific plugins for non-developers and over 5 million weekly active users.
- GPT Series Foundation Models Frontier large language models (GPT-5.6 Sol/Terra/Luna, GPT-5.5, GPT-5.4, GPT-5.4 mini, GPT-5.3 Instant) providing advanced intelligence and multimodal capabilities across text, image, audio, and code processing with up to 1.05M context length.
- o Series Reasoning Models Advanced reasoning AI models (o1, o3, o4-mini, o3-mini) using chain-of-thought processes for complex STEM problems, mathematics, and step-by-step logical analysis with full tool access.
- OpenAI API Platform REST API platform providing access to frontier models (GPT-5.5, GPT-5.4, GPT-5.4 mini) with Agents SDK, Responses API, and Realtime API for voice, plus enterprise-grade features including SOC 2 Type 2 and HIPAA compliance.
- Sora AI video generation model creating physically accurate, realistic, and controllable video content with synchronized dialogue and sound effects from text instructions.
- DALL-E Image generation model creating vivid images from text descriptions, powering ChatGPT Images 2.0 capabilities and ChatGPT's multimodal features.
- Whisper Automatic speech recognition system with near-human-level robustness and accuracy for transcription and translation of spoken language.
- Voice Engine Synthetic voice generation technology enabling natural-sounding voice interactions through the Realtime API and Voice Agents for application integration.
- Daybreak Cybersecurity platform including Codex Security plugin for vulnerability discovery and patching, GPT-5.5-Cyber model for trusted defenders, Daybreak Cyber Partner Program, and Patch the Planet initiative for open-source vulnerability patching.
- GPT-Rosalind Specialized AI model for life sciences research with biological reasoning, medicinal chemistry expertise, genomics analysis, and experimental workflow capabilities, plus the Rosalind Biodefense program for vetted biodefense and public health partners.
- Frontier Enterprise AI platform for advanced AI agent deployment across organizations, supporting customer experiences, internal operations, employee productivity, and software development with enterprise-grade controls.
Quantifiable outcome
- 5+ million weekly Codex users, 137x non-developer growth
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use OpenAI
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
OpenAI technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration31 records
AI capability14 records
Feature5 records
OpenAI partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship, strategic and major.
- CerebrascoreCerebras providing inference compute for OpenAI models. GPT-5.6 Sol launching on Cerebras hardware achieving up to 750 tokens per second. $20 billion contract with Cerebras for compute capacity.
- HP Inc.flagshipHP announced strategic partnership to deploy OpenAI Frontier platform across its global operations. HP became one of the first global enterprises to adopt Frontier for customer-facing experiences, internal operations, employee productivity, and software development. Pilot programs began February 2026 with early results showing significant productivity gains.
- CoreWeavecoreCoreWeave is a key AI infrastructure supplier to OpenAI with a $99 billion backlog. Provides GPU cloud capacity for AI workloads.
- KEPCO (Korea Electric Power Corporation)strategicKEPCO signed MOU with OpenAI for AI transformation of the energy industry. First public energy company in Korea to directly partner with OpenAI, combining power system infrastructure with AI technology.
- BroadcomcoreJoint development of Jalapeño, OpenAI's first custom AI inference chip. Developed in approximately 9 months, the chip is optimized for large language model workloads with ~50% lower cost than GPU setups. Part of multi-generation AI compute platform roadmap.
- TBPNstrategicOpenAI acquired TBPN, a tech news podcast hosted by John Coogan and Jordi Hays. Founders join OpenAI as part of transaction. TBPN maintains editorial independence while housed in strategy organization.
- AstralstrategicOpenAI acquiring Astral, developer of open source Python tools (uv, Ruff, ty). Astral team will join Codex to accelerate AI across software development lifecycle. Acquisition subject to regulatory approval.
- PromptfoostrategicOpenAI acquired Promptfoo, a cybersecurity startup for AI testing and safeguarding. Team of 11-23 people will join OpenAI Frontier division. Platform used by 350,000+ developers including Fortune 500.
- RocksetstrategicOpenAI acquired Rockset, a real-time analytics database company. Integration aimed to improve retrieval infrastructure across OpenAI's offerings with advanced data indexing and querying.
- MultistrategicOpenAI acquired collaboration platform Multi to enhance remote collaboration capabilities.
- AccenturemajorAccenture partnered with OpenAI and Anthropic to position itself as an enterprise AI deployment layer. Helps deploy OpenAI solutions to enterprise customers globally.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights9 records
OpenAI competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Google DeepMind: Develops Google's Gemini family of frontier foundation models and AI products integrated across Search, Workspace, and Cloud. Direct competitor to OpenAI on model capability, API distribution, and enterprise AI platforms.
- Anthropic: Closest direct competitor to OpenAI, developing frontier Claude foundation models with a strong API and enterprise focus (Claude for Work). Competes head-to-head with OpenAI for developer and enterprise AI spend.
- xAI: Elon Musk's AI lab building Grok foundation models tightly integrated with X. Competes with OpenAI at the frontier model layer and is rapidly building its own data-center and chip capacity similar to OpenAI.
- Cohere: Enterprise-focused foundation model provider with North-platform offerings for secure deployment. Competes with OpenAI's enterprise/API tier for retrieval, summarization, and workflow use cases inside regulated industries.
Emerging players
- Mistral AI: European foundation-model lab offering both open-weight and commercial models via API and on-prem. Competes with OpenAI's models on enterprise and developer workloads, particularly for European customers concerned with data residency.
- Perplexity: AI-native answer engine built on top of frontier models including OpenAI's. Competes with ChatGPT for consumer/knowledge-worker attention and has overlapping enterprise PRO offerings.
- Inflection AI: Rebuilt as an enterprise AI studio (Pi → Inflection for Enterprise) after the Microsoft/PI talent deal. Competes with OpenAI in conversational and enterprise assistant categories.
Broad incumbents
- Meta (Llama): Open-weights Llama family sets the de facto standard for self-hostable foundation models, putting pricing pressure on OpenAI's API and serving as the main open-source alternative to GPT and Claude.
- Microsoft (Copilot): Both a major OpenAI partner (Azure distribution, $13B investment) and a competing provider of Copilot products across Office 365, GitHub, and Dynamics. Competes with ChatGPT Enterprise and Codex at the productivity layer.
Others
- Hugging Face: Hub and inference platform for open-weights models and AI applications. Adjacent ecosystem participant that channels developer mindshare away from OpenAI's API by enabling self-hosted alternatives.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
OpenAI social profiles
Digital presenceOpenAI compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
OpenAI financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
OpenAI leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles14 records
OpenAI subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries13 records
OpenAI funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds16 records
Investors113 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
OpenAI M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A25 records
Investments37 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about OpenAI
What does OpenAI do?
OpenAI develops and deploys frontier artificial intelligence foundation models (GPT series, o-series reasoning, Codex, DALL-E, Sora, Whisper, Voice Engine) and delivers them through three primary channels: the ChatGPT consumer assistant (Free, Plus, Pro, Team tiers) for individual users, the OpenAI API Platform with usage-based pricing for developers embedding AI in applications, and ChatGPT Enterprise/Business tiers with administrative controls, security, and dedicated support for large organizations. The company also offers specialized products including Daybreak cybersecurity tools, GPT-Rosalind for life sciences, and the Frontier enterprise deployment platform, with approximately 900 million weekly active users across its consumer products.
Is OpenAI a public or private company?
OpenAI is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was OpenAI founded?
OpenAI was founded in 2015. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is OpenAI based?
OpenAI is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does OpenAI make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. ChatGPT Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are API Platform, enterprise Licensing and advertising.
Who are OpenAI's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Google DeepMind, Anthropic, xAI and Cohere. Emerging players are Mistral AI, Perplexity and Inflection AI. Broad incumbents are Meta (Llama) and Microsoft (Copilot). Hugging Face is listed as an others.
Does OpenAI have an API?
Yes. OpenAI's API Platform provides access to frontier models including GPT-5.5, GPT-5.4, and GPT-5.4 mini through a REST API. The platform supports agents through the Agents SDK and Responses API, with voice capabilities via the Realtime API. Key use cases include coding acceleration, customer support automation, personalized recommendations, research and data analysis, content generation, and educational tools. Enterprise-grade features include no training on customer data, zero data retention by request, HIPAA compliance with BAAs, SOC 2 Type 2 compliance, data residency controls, IP Allowlist, mTLS network controls, SSO, MFA, and AES-256 encryption at rest with TLS 1.2+ in transit. Developer documentation is at developers.openai.com.
What industry is OpenAI in?
OpenAI's product category is Generative AI Foundation Models. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAEANAJ, AI Application Enablement Platforms (Copilot/Agent Frameworks, SDKs), with a secondary code of HDAAAMAB, Model Transparency, Explainability & Interpretability (XAI). Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.