OpenAI audited financial report: a loss of $38.5 billion in 2025, with $19.2 billion spent on R&D, and Microsoft collected $17.2 billion in a single year

Author: Ed Zitron

Translation: Deep Tide TechFlow

Deep Tide Guide: OpenAI's audited financial report has been revealed for the first time, showing losses far exceeding expectations. The 2025 loss skyrocketed from $5.1 billion the previous year to $38.5 billion, with R&D expenses reaching $19.2 billion, while Microsoft collected $17.2 billion in fees from OpenAI over the year. This billion-dollar-valued AI star company, how far is it from profitability?

Today, I can exclusively report, based on audited financial documents reviewed by our publication (independently verified by The Financial Times), that OpenAI lost approximately $38.5 billion in 2025, along with other key details about the company's financial situation.

Given the seriousness of this report, I will not comment too much, because the numbers speak for themselves.

OpenAI 2024 Loss of $5.1 billion

2024 — OpenAI revenue: $3.7 billion, costs and expenses: $12.4 billion, net loss attributable to the company: $5.1 billion.

OpenAI’s financial statements tell the story of a surprisingly loss-making company.

Revenue: $3.7 billion

Cost of revenue: $2.65 billion

R&D: $7.81 billion

Sales and marketing: $1.11 billion

General and administrative: $907 million

Total costs and expenses: $12.48 billion

Operating loss: $8.78 billion

Including interest income and interest expenses, other factors brought its net loss to $8.84 billion. Then, it marked a loss of $3.74 billion as "net loss attributable to non-controlling member capital," resulting in net loss attributable to the company of $5 billion.

It’s unclear what this means exactly, nor how OpenAI adjusted for removing the $3.74 billion cost. I will not speculate further.

OpenAI 2025 Loss of $38.5 billion

2025 — OpenAI revenue: $13.07 billion, costs and expenses: $34 billion, loss: $20.92 billion, net loss attributable to the company: $38.53 billion.

Revenue: $13.07 billion

Cost of revenue: $7.5 billion

R&D: $19.18 billion

Sales and marketing: $5.73 billion

General and administrative: $1.57 billion

Total costs and expenses: $34 billion

Operating loss: $20.92 billion

Note that 2025 was the year OpenAI transitioned from a non-profit organization to a for-profit entity, resulting in a $41.55 billion loss due to changes in fair value of convertible equity and warrants liabilities.

Considering other minor factors like interest income and interest expenses, OpenAI’s net loss was $60.35 billion, with $17.87 billion removed through "net loss attributable to non-controlling member capital," and an additional $3.95 billion removed via "net loss attributable to redeemable non-controlling interests," bringing it down to $38.53 billion.

Ultimately, the net loss attributable to OpenAI in 2025 was $38.5 billion.

At year-end, OpenAI held assets slightly over $50 billion, nearly half of which was cash.

2025 SoftBank paid OpenAI $867 million, Microsoft paid $303 million

In 2025, SoftBank paid OpenAI $867 million. Microsoft paid $303 million.

The documents disclosed how much OpenAI paid Microsoft in service fees. In the 2025 calendar year, OpenAI paid Microsoft $10.59 billion for "R&D" expenses. We believe this likely refers to the costs of training OpenAI models.

The documents also mentioned $6.05B related to "cost of revenue," $527 million in sales and marketing expenses, and $42 million in "general and administrative expenses." In total, OpenAI paid Microsoft $17.2 billion.

According to the data, at the end of the calendar year, OpenAI’s liabilities to Microsoft were $3.64 billion, with an additional $21 million in "accrued expenses and other current liabilities." The documents also referenced another $58 million in non-current liabilities.

Further notes

I plan to follow up on this story next month with more in-depth reporting related to these documents. They are very detailed, and I need time to analyze thoroughly. Once done, you will know.

OpenAI’s financial situation is deeply concerning. The $38.53 billion loss is astronomical, far beyond most expectations. The losses also seem to be growing at an astonishing rate year over year. I’m unsure how this company will find any path toward sustainability or profitability.

As mentioned earlier, I will not comment too much today. I believe the best thing I can do for the public is to deliver this message as clearly and concisely as possible.