Spending a fortune on Sora, the company is banking on a payoff that’s still years away.
OpenAI’s groundbreaking Sora video generator is producing more than just viral clips of farting celebrities and surreal shopping ads; it’s burning a multi-million dollar hole in the company’s pocket.
Despite projecting a massive $20 billion annual revenue rate, OpenAI is facing staggering losses, with its new video app becoming a major financial sinkhole.
According to expert analysis by Forbes, the service could be costing as much as $15 million daily, or over $5 billion annually, to power the millions of free, 10-second videos it churns out for users.
This gluttonous spending is a calculated, high-stakes gamble.
By absorbing immense costs now, OpenAI aims to dominate the AI video market, refine its models with user-generated data, and lure in a future base of paying professional customers.
However, with CEO Sam Altman admitting the current “completely unsustainable” economics, the era of free, limitless video generation is likely coming to an abrupt end as the company scrambles to monetise its most expensive slop factory yet.
