Key Highlights

  • OpenAI engaged in preliminary discussions with The Trade Desk (TTD) regarding ChatGPT advertising sales
  • TTD shares climbed 9.3% during after-hours trading based on the disclosure; AppLovin (APP) increased more than 1%
  • ChatGPT ads are currently being tested with adult users who are logged in on Free and Go plans
  • OpenAI’s annualized revenue reached $25B by late February, representing a 17% increase from $21.4B at year-end
  • OpenAI secured $110B in its most recent funding round, receiving capital from Amazon, Nvidia, and SoftBank

Shares of The Trade Desk (TTD) surged 9.3% during after-hours trading Wednesday following a report from The Information revealing that OpenAI engaged in preliminary conversations with the advertising technology company about monetizing ChatGPT through advertisements.

According to sources familiar with the matter cited in the report, these discussions remain in their initial phases.

OpenAI launched ad testing within ChatGPT for U.S. users recently. The pilot program targets adult users who have logged in and subscribe to either the Free or Go service tiers.

The AI company seems to favor collaborating with external partners to develop its advertising operations rather than creating an internal infrastructure from scratch.

OpenAI has entered into discussions with brands, media agencies, and additional ad tech companies alongside The Trade Desk as it develops this advertising pilot program.

Shares of AppLovin (APP), another player in the ad tech space, rose more than 1% after the announcement.

Revenue Growth at OpenAI

By the conclusion of February, OpenAI’s annualized revenue climbed to $25 billion, a separate report confirmed. This represents a 17% jump from the $21.4 billion figure reported at the close of the previous year.

The company forecasts total revenue exceeding $280 billion by 2030, with roughly balanced contributions coming from consumer and enterprise divisions.

Within the enterprise segment, OpenAI competes against Anthropic and Google, both aggressively marketing AI solutions to business customers.

Massive Capital Raise of $110B

OpenAI announced last Friday that it completed a $110 billion funding round.

Amazon invested $50 billion, while Nvidia and SoftBank each contributed $30 billion.

This fundraise ranks among the largest capital raises in technology sector history and provides OpenAI with substantial resources to pursue expansion across multiple business segments, including advertising.

Integrating advertisements into ChatGPT represents one element of OpenAI’s strategy to create multiple revenue streams beyond subscription offerings and enterprise licensing agreements.

The Trade Desk operates a self-service programmatic advertising platform that could provide OpenAI with the scale and technical infrastructure necessary to efficiently manage ad distribution across its expanding user community.

Neither organization has publicly confirmed any definitive partnership agreement.