According to The New York Times, a document presented to potential investors of a technology company revealed a significant detail: currently, approximately 10 million ChatGPT users are paying the company $20 per month. The document states that OpenAI plans to increase this fee by $2 by the end of this year and substantially raise it to $44 per month over the next five years.

This price increase is part of OpenAI's efforts to address investor demands to reduce losses. Despite the company achieving monthly revenues of $300 million as of August this year, it is projected to incur an annual loss of around $5 billion, primarily due to high expenditures on personnel, office leases, and AI training infrastructure. Reports indicate that ChatGPT's daily operating costs reached up to $700,000 at one point.

The investment proposal could potentially value OpenAI at $150 billion and provide the company with two years to transition to a profitable enterprise, after which financing would shift to debt. However, if OpenAI raises prices too rapidly, it may face backlash from users. Surveys show that many users already consider the current $20 monthly fee to be too high.

In the coming years, the cost of using ChatGPT may significantly increase, and whether OpenAI can find an optimal balance between profitability and user acceptance remains to be seen.