AI startup OpenAI announced on Thursday that its chatbot, ChatGPT, now boasts over 200 million weekly active users, doubling its user base since last fall. The rapid growth highlights the increasing popularity and widespread adoption of AI-powered tools.
ChatGPT, which launched in 2022, quickly gained traction for its ability to generate human-like responses to user prompts. In November, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed that the chatbot had reached 100 million weekly active users. The latest milestone reflects the accelerating demand for AI technologies across various sectors.
OpenAI reported that 92% of Fortune 500 companies are utilizing its products, and the usage of its automated Application Programming Interface (API), which facilitates communication between software programs, has also doubled since the launch of GPT-4o mini in July. GPT-4o mini is a more cost-efficient and energy-saving AI model designed to make OpenAI’s technology accessible to a broader audience.
The success of ChatGPT has significantly contributed to AI’s growing prominence and has driven the valuation of San Francisco-based OpenAI to new heights.
In a related development, OpenAI and fellow AI startup Anthropic have signed agreements with the U.S. government for the research, testing, and evaluation of their AI models, as reported by the U.S. Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute.
Meanwhile, media reports suggest that tech giants Apple and Nvidia are in discussions to invest in OpenAI as part of a new fundraising round that could value the ChatGPT creator at over $100 billion. OpenAI’s key backer, Microsoft, is also expected to participate in the investment.