ChatGPT Plus plan price may hike by Rs 162 by end of the year

The ChatGPT Plus subscription cost is expected to rise to $44 per month by the end of 2029.

In Short

• OpenAI plans to increase the monthly subscription by $2 (around Rs 167) of ChatGPT Plus
• The planned price hike highlights OpenAI's push toward higher revenue
• OpenAI has approximately 10 million subscribers to its ChatGPT Plus service

OpenAI's AI chatbot ChatGPT is reportedly set to become more expensive for its paid ChatGPT Plus subscribers. According to a recent report, the company plans to increase the monthly subscription by $2, which would mean around Rs 167 in India. However, this price rise won’t stop there, as OpenAI is expected to raise the subscription cost to $44 (approximately Rs 3,685) over the next five years. The motivation behind these planned increases is attributed to OpenAI’s revenue goals and the high operational costs of maintaining its sophisticated AI systems, which require significant resources to operate efficiently. OpenAI launched a ChatGPT Plus subscription in February for $20 per month (roughly Rs 1,650).

As per the report published in The New York Times, the AI firm is eyeing increasing prices by the end of 2024. According to financial documents cited in the report, the ChatGPT Plus subscription cost is expected to rise to $44 per month by the end of 2029. This represents a significant increase from the current price, which is set at $20 per month in the US or ₹1,950 per month in India. The planned price hike highlights OpenAI's push toward higher revenue as it faces the rising operational costs of running the advanced AI systems behind ChatGPT.

This projected price increase could elevate OpenAI's annual revenue to levels comparable with major corporations such as Reliance Industries and Nestlé. Currently, OpenAI has approximately 10 million subscribers to its ChatGPT Plus service, making the potential financial gains from the price hike substantial. The documents, which were reviewed by the publication and intended for investors, reportedly indicate that OpenAI is currently generating "billions" in revenue from ChatGPT.

The company expects to significantly increase these figures in the coming years. Additionally, OpenAI is in the process of closing a new funding round, aiming to further accelerate its growth and operations. This move reflects OpenAI's ambitions to expand its financial success and further solidify its position in the AI industry.

As OpenAI manoeuvres through its financial strategies, the planned price hikes reflect a deliberate move to optimise revenue while managing increasing operational costs. This approach underscores the company's efforts to balance profitability with the challenges of scaling up its AI services.

Despite the substantial revenue projections, OpenAI is reportedly facing challenges in optimising its operational costs. The company is expected to incur losses of approximately $5 billion (around Rs 41.8 thousand crore) this year. A significant portion of these expenses is attributed to the high costs of running its AI-driven services. Additionally, other major areas of expenditure include employee salaries and office rental costs, contributing further to the company's financial strain as it continues to scale its operations.

In a separate development, on September 23, OpenAI announced that one of its official accounts on X (formerly known as Twitter) had been compromised. According to a report from Bloomberg, the @OpenAINewsroom account was hacked, and the intruder posted misleading messages urging users to click on links related to a fraudulent cryptocurrency token falsely linked to the company.