OpenAI, known for its groundbreaking generative AI tool ChatGPT, is actively pitching its services directly to Fortune 500 companies. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and COO Brad Lightcap hosted meetings with hundreds of executives from major corporations in San Francisco, New York, and London. The focus of the pitch was on OpenAI’s enterprise offerings, including the robust chatbot service ChatGPT Enterprise, tailored for corporate use, and software integrating customer applications with OpenAI’s AI services through APIs.
Altman and Lightcap emphasized that more than 92% of Fortune 500 companies already use the consumer version of ChatGPT, ensuring a solid foundation for the adoption of ChatGPT Enterprise. Notably, they assured prospective clients that data from ChatGPT Enterprise would not be used to train its models, putting a significant emphasis on privacy and security, particularly in the wake of lawsuits implicating OpenAI in alleged data violations.
The move puts OpenAI in competition with its primary financial backer, Microsoft, which already offers some OpenAI services through its own platforms. By leveraging its Azure cloud and Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft facilitates access to OpenAI’s technology, which has raised concerns among executives about the prospect of paying for ChatGPT Enterprise in addition to existing Microsoft services. However, Altman and Lightcap addressed these concerns by highlighting the benefits of direct collaboration with OpenAI’s team, citing access to cutting-edge models and customized AI solutions tailored to enterprise needs.
As of March 2024, OpenAI boasts a valuation of $68 billion and is on track to achieve its target of $1 billion in revenue for 2024. The company has high hopes for its enterprise model to be a significant revenue contributor. According to Lightcap, there has been a notable surge in interest in the business model, with over 600,000 signups for ChatGPT Enterprise and Team, a substantial increase from the 150,000 signups in January. This effectively underscores the growing demand for AI solutions in the corporate sector.
Aside from targeting Fortune 500 companies, OpenAI has reportedly been in talks with movie studios in Hollywood, promoting its Sora video creation tool to studio executives. Despite the excitement surrounding the technology, concerns persist regarding the source of training data, output reliability, and copyright protection.
OpenAI’s aggressive push for the mass adoption of its AI services among Fortune 500 companies signifies a paradigm shift in the corporate landscape, as the integration of AI technologies becomes increasingly imperative for market diversification and tapping into new revenue streams, and OpenAI is at the forefront of driving this transformation.
(SAVANNAH FORTIS, COINTELEGRAPH, 2024)