ChatGPT is getting bigger and stronger, even as new rivals emerge. OpenAI, the company behind the AI chatbot, now has 400 million weekly users. That’s a huge jump from 300 million in December.
Brad Lightcap, OpenAI’s Chief Operating Officer, shared these numbers with CNBC. According to him, ChatGPT’s growth is natural. More people are hearing about it, trying it, and finding it useful. “They see their friends using it, and they want to use it too,” he said.
The rise of ChatGPT isn’t just among individuals. Companies are also getting on board. OpenAI now has 2 million enterprise customers, double the number from September. Many employees start by using ChatGPT personally, then convince their companies to adopt it. Big names like Uber, Morgan Stanley, and T-Mobile are among OpenAI’s customers.
The company’s developer community is also booming. More developers are using OpenAI’s AI models to power their own apps and services. According to Lightcap, traffic from developers has doubled in six months, and usage of OpenAI’s advanced reasoning model, o3, has grown five times.
But OpenAI isn’t alone in this space. A Chinese AI company, DeepSeek, made headlines in January. On the day DeepSeek gained attention, Nvidia’s stock dropped by 17%, erasing $600 billion in value. OpenAI even accused DeepSeek of copying its models.
Despite this, Lightcap says OpenAI is staying focused. The company isn’t changing its plans because of competition. “AI is becoming as essential as cloud computing,” he said. “Businesses won’t be able to run without it.”
Meanwhile, OpenAI is also dealing with legal battles. Elon Musk, a co-founder, sued the company over its shift toward a for-profit model. Musk even tried to buy OpenAI’s assets for nearly $100 billion, but OpenAI rejected the offer.
Even with these challenges, OpenAI remains strong. “The numbers tell the story,” Lightcap said. And for now, ChatGPT’s story is all about growth.
