Leaked paperwork shed gentle into how a lot OpenAI pays Microsoft

[ad_1] After a yr of frenzied dealmaking and rumors of an upcoming IPO, the monetary scrutiny into OpenAI is intensifying. Leaked paperwork obtained by tech blogger Ed Zitron present extra of a glimpse into OpenAI’s financials — particularly its income and compute prices over the previous couple of years.

Zitron reported this week that in 2024, Microsoft obtained $493.8 million in income share funds from OpenAI. Within the first three quarters of 2025, that quantity jumped to $865.8 million, in response to paperwork he considered.

OpenAI reportedly shares 20% of its income with Microsoft as a part of a earlier deal the place the software program big invested over $13 billion within the highly effective AI startup. (Neither the startup nor the individuals in Redmond have publicly confirmed this proportion.)

Nonetheless, that is the place issues get somewhat sticky, as a result of Microsoft additionally shares income with OpenAI, kicking again about 20% of the revenues from Bing and Azure OpenAI Service, a supply acquainted with the matter informed TechCrunch. Bing is powered by OpenAI, and the OpenAI Service sells cloud entry to OpenAI’s fashions to builders and companies.

The supply additionally informed TechCrunch that the leaked funds check with Microsoft’s web income share, not the gross income share. In different phrases, they don’t embrace no matter Microsoft paid to OpenAI from Bing and Azure OpenAI royalties. Microsoft deducts these figures from its internally reported income share numbers, in response to this individual.

Microsoft doesn’t get away how a lot it makes from Bing and Azure OpenAI in its monetary statements, so it’s tough to estimate how a lot the tech big is kicking again.

Nonetheless, the leaked paperwork present a window into the most well liked firm on the personal markets at the moment — and never simply how a lot it makes in income, but additionally how a lot it’s spending compared to that income.

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So, based mostly on that extensively reported 20% revenue-share statistic, we will infer that OpenAI’s income was at the very least $2.5 billion in 2024 and $4.33 billion within the first three quarters of 2025 — however very more likely to be extra. Earlier studies from The Data put OpenAI’s 2024 income at round $4 billion, and its income from the primary half of 2025 at $4.3 billion.

Altman additionally lately mentioned OpenAI’s income is “properly extra” than studies of $13 billion a yr, will finish the yr above $20 billion in annualized income run price (which is a projection, not steerage on precise income), and that the corporate may even hit $100 billion by 2027.

Per Zitron’s evaluation, OpenAI could have spent roughly $3.8 billion on inference in 2024. That spend elevated to roughly $8.65 billion within the first 9 months of 2025. Inference is the compute used to run a skilled AI mannequin to generate responses.

OpenAI has traditionally virtually completely relied on Microsoft Azure to supply compute entry, although it has additionally struck offers with CoreWeave and Oracle, and extra lately with AWS and Google Cloud.

Earlier studies put OpenAI’s total compute spend at roughly $5.6 billion for 2024 and its “value of income” at $2.5 billion for the primary half of 2025.

A supply acquainted with the matter informed TechCrunch that whereas OpenAI’s coaching spend is generally non-cash — that means, paid by credit Microsoft awarded OpenAI as a part of its funding — the agency’s inference spend is basically money. (Coaching refers back to the compute assets wanted to initially practice a mannequin.)

Whereas not an entire image, these numbers suggest that OpenAI could possibly be spending extra on inference prices than it's incomes in income.

And people implications promise so as to add to the incessant AI bubble chatter that has seeped into each dialog from New York Metropolis to Silicon Valley. If mannequin big OpenAI actually nonetheless is within the pink operating its fashions, what would possibly this imply for the large investments at jaw-dropping valuations for the remainder of the AI world?

OpenAI declined to remark. Microsoft didn't reply to TechCrunch’s request for remark.

Acquired a delicate tip or confidential paperwork? We’re reporting on the internal workings of the AI trade — from the businesses shaping its future to the individuals impacted by their choices. Attain out to Rebecca Bellan at rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com or Russell Brandom at russell.brandom@techcrunch.com. For safe communication, you may contact them through Sign at @rebeccabellan.491 and russellbrandom.49.