OpenAI has warned the public and investors about “unauthorised opportunities to gain exposure to OpenAI through various channels.”
In a recent blog post, the business explicitly criticised the use of special-purpose vehicles and comparable arrangements, emphasising that OpenAI does not approve or support such channels.
“We urge you to be careful if you are contacted by a firm that purports to have access to OpenAI, including through the sale of an SPV interest with exposure to OpenAI equity,” the company stated.
The blog post also emphasised that “not every offer of OpenAI equity […] is problematic,” but cautions that some firms may be “seeking to bypass our transfer restrictions.”
“If so, the sale will not be recognised and carry no economic value to you,” OpenAI added.
To acquire shares in popular AI startups, investors increasingly turn to SPVs, arrangements that pool money for one-time transactions. Some venture capitalists have criticised the strategy, calling SPVs vehicles for “tourist chumps.”
Business Insider claims that other significant AI companies are also strengthening their positions.
Anthropic has reportedly informed Menlo Ventures that it must make a direct investment using its own funds rather than an SPV to participate in an upcoming funding round.
OpenAI’s significant milestone
On a global scale, ChatGPT‘s mobile application has generated $2 billion in revenue since its inception in May 2023. Due to its extraordinary success, the app is currently the industry champion in smartphone AI chatbots.
Although competitors generate revenues of less than $1 per download, the application generates $2.91 per installation worldwide.
The app’s revenue growth in 2025 has been nothing short of extraordinary. ChatGPT’s mobile application generated $1.35 billion from January to July, representing a remarkable 673 per cent increase from the $174 million it generated during the same period in the previous year.
Compared to the mere $25 million per month in 2024, this year’s sales amount to approximately $193 million. According to industry analysts, these figures illustrate the significant revenue growth that ChatGPT has achieved in the mobile market.
Furthermore, although they only account for 10.3 per cent of installs worldwide, American users generate 38 per cent of the app’s overall revenue, making up a sizable portion of this pot.
Its considerable pricing power in premium markets is demonstrated by the fact that, on average, U.S. consumers pay around $10 for each install.
Since its launch, ChatGPT has amassed almost 690 million downloads globally, greatly exceeding rivals like Grok from xAI, whose monthly income of only $3.6 million is a factor of 30.
Compared to Grok’s $0.75 and Microsoft’s Copilot’s $0.28 earnings per download, ChatGPT’s $2.91 earnings disparity widens even more.
The financial domination of ChatGPT shows its appeal and raises the bar for mobile AI monetisation.
ChatGPT generates revenue that other AI apps can barely match, depending on user spending. The 2025 mobile AI boom has a clear leader, and the figures show it.