OpenAI recently fell short of its targets for new users and revenue, having aimed for 1 billion weekly active users by the end of 2025. Concerns within the company have escalated, particularly from CFO Sarah Friar, who expressed doubts about OpenAI’s ability to support future computing contracts if revenue growth does not accelerate. This situation follows a trend of missed monthly revenue targets earlier this year, as OpenAI has struggled against rising competition, notably from Anthropic in the coding and enterprise markets.

OpenAI: OpenAI is an artificial intelligence company that develops and deploys frontier AI models including the GPT series, ChatGPT Enterprise, and Codex for enterprise applications. It recently announced expansions in enterprise AI adoption and released updates like GPT-5.5 and improved ChatGPT features. In internal discussions reported by WSJ, OpenAI missed targets for new users and revenue, raising leadership concerns about funding future data center and compute needs.
Sarah Friar: Sarah Friar is the Chief Financial Officer of OpenAI since mid-2024, with prior leadership as CEO of Nextdoor and CFO of Square. She recently told company leaders she worries OpenAI might struggle to cover future computing contracts without faster revenue growth. Her concerns stem from missed internal targets for users and revenue amid high compute spending commitments.

`json
{
“User Targets”: “OpenAI recently missed its own targets for new users and revenue.”,
“Revenue Worries”: “Sarah Friar, the CFO, expressed concerns about the company’s ability to finance future computing contracts if revenue growth does not accelerate.”,
“Competitive Pressure”: “OpenAI has lost share to rivals such as Anthropic in coding and enterprise segments.”
}
`