OpenAI is projecting that more than 220 million weekly users will subscribe to ChatGPT by 2030, according to a report from The Information.

If met, the figure would position ChatGPT among the world’s largest subscription businesses.

The projection represents around 8.5% of the 2.6 billion weekly users OpenAI expects to be using ChatGPT by the end of the decade.

This is a steep climb from today’s paid base. As of July, roughly 35 million users – around 5% of weekly actives – were subscribed to ChatGPT Plus or Pro plans, priced at A$30 and A$305 per month, respectively.

To accelerate paid adoption, OpenAI is ramping up new consumer-facing features.

This week, the company unveiled a personal shopping assistant inside ChatGPT, a feature which could eventually support advertising or commission-based monetisation.

The push comes as OpenAI’s financial demands continue to escalate.

Despite revenues expected to hit an annualised US$20 billion by the end of 2025, the company is burning through cash at an extraordinary rate due to sky-high compute costs and ongoing AI model development.

Earlier reports suggested OpenAI generated US$4.3 billion in the first half of 2025 but also burned US$2.5 billion over the same period.

Analysts warn the financial mountain could grow steeper. HSBC Global Research recently estimated that OpenAI may require more than US$200 billion in fresh financing by 2030 to sustain its infrastructure and compute expansion.

OpenAI is also leaning heavily into enterprise growth.

The company now claims more than one million businesses use its tools, with over seven million ChatGPT for Work seats and soaring adoption among global brands including Spotify, Canva, Shopify, Walmart and Salesforce.

OpenAI has declined to comment on the latest projections and the report has not been independently verified.