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OpenAI's Sarah Friar floated "licensing models" as a new revenue path as the company seeks to make more money amid massive compute costs.Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty ImagesOpenAI's finance chief just put "licensing models" on the table.She said the company could take a share of downstream sales if a customer's product takes off.Her comments come as OpenAI prepares to test ads to help fund soaring compute costs.OpenAI's chief financial officer is musing about new ways the company could make money beyond ChatGPT subscriptions.In an episode of "The OpenAI Podcast" published Monday, Sarah Friar floated the idea of "licensing models," in which the company could take a share of downstream sales if a customer's product takes off."Let's say in drug discovery, if we licensed our technology, you have a breakthrough. The drug takes off, and we get a licensed portion of all its sales," Friar said."It's great alignment for us with our customer," she added.Friar's comments offer a glimpse of how OpenAI is thinking about funding its compute-hungry ambitions as it broadens its business model.Friar said OpenAI began with a single subscription after launching ChatGPT, but has since expanded to multiple price points, SaaS-style enterprise pricing, and credit-based pricing for customers who "want to pay more to get more."As OpenAI looks at commerce and ads, Friar said the model should always give the best answer, not a sponsored one, and maintain an ad-free tier.Last week, OpenAI announced it is preparing to test ads in ChatGPT, as the company seeks to boost revenue while facing spending commitments of about $1.4 trillion over the coming years.The move marks a shift from the company's earlier stance. Less than two years ago, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman described advertising as a "last resort.""Ads plus AI is sort of uniquely unsettling to me," Altman said during an event at Harvard University in May 2024. "I kind of think of ads as a last resort for us for a business model."Since then, Altman's tone has evolved alongside OpenAI's expansion and ballooning compute costs. In June, he said on OpenAI's podcast that he wasn't "totally against" advertising, but emphasized that it would need to be handled carefully.OpenAI also completed its restructuring in October, shifting the company toward a more traditional for-profit structure — a change Altman said would make it easier to raise capital going forward.Read the original article on Business Insider

Sam AltmanBENJAMIN LEGENDRE/AFP via Getty ImagesAdvertising could be a $25 billion business for OpenAI by 2030, Evercore ISI's Mark Mahaney wrote.OpenAI said Friday that it will start testing ads for some ChatGPT users.A big ads business at OpenAI could present a challenge to Google's search business.Advertising could become a $25 billion business for OpenAI — and pose a threat to Google, according to new estimates on Monday from a top tech analyst.Evercore ISI's Mark Mahaney sees the startup generating that level of annual ad revenue by 2030 if it executes well on rolling out this new business.OpenAI said on Friday that free and Go users of ChatGPT would start seeing ads "in the coming weeks." OpenAI also laid out its advertising principles, such as clearly labeling them and not sharing user conversations with advertisers."A path to generating several billion dollars in ad revenue in 2026, going to $25B+ by 2030, seems reasonable," Mahaney wrote in a note to investors.That's based on the likely scale of ChatGPT by that time, the proven monetization of high-intent performance marketing platforms, and the current size of this market, the analyst added.OpenAI's revenue is growing fast already. CFO Sarah Friar said in a recent blog post that the startup's annualized revenue topped $20 billion in 2025, up from $2 billion in 2023. However, there are big question marks over OpenAI's losses and whether it can become profitable in the future.Advertising could be one way for OpenAI to boost its top and bottom lines.Mahaney noted that Google's Search and YouTube businesses likely generated close to $300 billion in ad revenue in 2025, with Meta generating an additional $180 billion. These are highly profitable operations, with operating profit margins of 40%, according to the analyst.ChatGPT has almost 1 billion weekly average users, many of whom share valuable details with the chatbot, such as what they want and need. Advertisers are willing to pay up for access to this treasure trove. This is the type of intent-based information that forms the backbone of the massive digital ad businesses run by Google and Meta.OpenAI has said that initial test ads will appear at the bottom of ChatGPT answers and be relevant to the user's conversation with the chatbot. That approach might not be too intrusive for users, while still being attractive to advertisers, Mahaney said."OpenAI's move directly challenges this core revenue stream by offering an alternative, highly engaging platform for users to discover products and services," Mahaney wrote. "If ChatGPT can successfully integrate ads that are helpful rather than intrusive, it could siphon off valuable commercial queries that traditionally go to Google."The analyst also warned that if OpenAI can develop a "conversational" ad format, where users research and discuss potential purchases within ChatGPT, that could prompt advertisers to shift some of their marketing budgets because this is "high-intent engagement."Even if ChatGPT goes all-in on ads, though, don't expect the chatbot to take Google's share of the market overnight, Mahaney added.OpenAI will still have to compete with the tech ecosystem that Google has spent years creating, such as its Chrome web browser, as well as web users' habit of Googling stuff when they need an answer, Mahaney wrote.Read the original article on Business Insider

Sally Tian spent years moving between cultures. In 2025, she decided to move back to China to start a search fund.Sally Tian.Sally Tian grew up between China and Canada, living and working in both countries at different points in her life.After grad school, she decided against corporate life and moved to China to pursue a search fund.She says returning to China reshaped her identity, work goals, and relationship with her parents.Growing up between two cultures shaped Sally Tian's perspective on the world.Tian was born in Guangzhou, China, and lived there until she was 10, when her family moved to Vancouver. At 15, she returned to China to attend an international school before heading to Toronto for college, where she later started her career in management consulting."I thought, 'I'm going to fulfill the immigrant dream. I'm going to get a great corporate job and all that,'" Tian, now 30, told Business Insider.However, the predictability of her days left her wanting more, and after three years, she moved to Beijing in 2020 to work for a major Chinese tech company.After completing her MBA, Tian realized she didn't want to be in a corporate job.Sally Tian.What was meant to be a one-year stay in China stretched to nearly three years. After a year in Beijing, she was relocated to Shanghai, where she remained in the role for another year before moving on to a startup.In 2023, amid prolonged lockdowns in Shanghai, Tian and her boyfriend left for graduate school in the US, hoping the time away would help them decide where to build their future.After two years of pursuing her MBA at Harvard, Tian said she found her answer: The life she wanted didn't include a corporate job.Instead, she and her boyfriend wanted to start a search fund, which involves looking for and acquiring a small business to run themselves."I would say a lot of the reason why people want to do it is because they don't want to work for someone else. They want to be their own boss, and I definitely want to do that as well," Tian said.Moving back to ChinaWhile search funds are more common in the US, Tian said China felt like the place where she could make it work. In September, she and her boyfriend packed up their bags and moved back.Tian moved into a three-bedroom apartment in Shanghai with her boyfriend.Sally Tian.The couple considered several cities, including Guangzhou, but ultimately chose Shanghai for its strong investor network and business opportunities.With the help of a real estate agent, they found a three-bedroom apartment located about 40 minutes from the city center. The monthly rent is 8,900 Chinese yuan, or about $1,270.The neighborhood has everything they need, including a mall, a Sam's Club, and a Costco, Tian said. Due to its proximity to many international schools, there are a lot of expats living in their area too.Rent is about $1,270 a month.Sally Tian."Culturally, I understand. I just feel like this is my home, and I don't feel like I'm doing it in someone else's home," Tian said.Moreover, she said the success of her search fund in the US would depend heavily on relationship-building with potential sellers, which she felt would be more challenging due to cultural differences."I don't think I can connect as well with, for example, a Midwest person in their 50s or 60s, or all the sports that they're into," she said.Tian said she is looking to acquire a business in industries including B2B services, B2C franchises, and manufacturing.Sally Tian.A 2024 Stanford report of 681 search funds formed in the US and Canada since 1984 found that investors have put about $1.45 billion into search funds and search-acquired companies over the past four years.While search funds remain rare in China compared to the US, Tian believes that gap represents opportunity.While services and enterprise software dominate most North American search fund acquisitions, Tian said her focus in China is broader, spanning B2B services, B2C franchises, and manufacturing.Many…

Gina Jaguttis came to Bali to improve her surfing and left with a newly launched side hustle.Gina JaguttisGina Jaguttis launched a slow fashion workwear brand after being inspired at a surf camp.Her business idea came from personal struggles finding quality professional clothing.She said she realized that if the business fails, it would at least make a good story.On a Monday morning in early December, I met Gina Jaguttis as we loaded our surfboards into the camp van just before sunrise. We only got to talking on a choppy boat ride that took us a mile off the coast of Bali, Indonesia.The 26-year-old real estate project manager from Munich came to the surf camp to improve her skills on the water. I came to talk with adventurous travelers about their big ideas, from new businesses to life after layoffs.At our camp's bonfire that night, she began to tell me why she made a second solo expedition to the tropical island. As we toasted marshmallows, she shared that she had launched a small side hustle a day before the bonfire.A few weeks after we got home, both recovering from sunburns and surf injuries, we unpacked her story further in a call. Our chats have been edited for length and clarity; the following is in Jaguttis' words.When I started my career a few years ago, I struggled to find formal clothes that looked professional and were good quality. Brands like Zara or Mango didn't meet my longevity standards, and I didn't love how they are mass-produced. Construction and real estate are male-dominated, and I always wanted to look well-dressed so others know that they have to treat me professionally.In college, I was the girl who had a capsule wardrobe with pieces such as turtlenecks and cotton pants that I knew looked stylish then but also 10 years later. When I started work, it was frustrating to find well-fitted suits or blouses that were timeless and would last several years. On a trip to Bali and Thailand in 2024, I decided to invest in workwear and got a few pieces custom-made at a tailor's shop. I created vision boards, selected high-quality fabrics, and had some classic pieces made. I finally felt like I had outfits that made me feel confident in front of manager and director-level people.Once I started wearing these suits back home, people asked me where I bought them from and were surprised to hear that I designed them myself. One woman said that if I ever turned it into a business, she would definitely be up for buying from me.When I heard this for a second time, I started thinking about building my own brand.'It would make a good story'Jaguttis flew to Bali for a second time in 2025 to improve her surfing skills.Gina JaguttisStarting a business, especially one that I would fund entirely with my own savings, is always a daunting prospect. The biggest thought holding me back was "Am I going to fail?"In late November 2025, about a year after my first trip, I went to Bali again, this time to learn how to surf. I stayed at a surf camp and was surrounded by inspiring people from all over the world.It was a reflective retreat for most of them, and many were there to figure out what they wanted out of life. I met people who took all kinds of risks: musicians who stuck to their passion even when they struggled to find a job, people in between career changes, or someone living out of a van while she figured out her life plan.Talking to them made me realize that I actually knew what I wanted, and it made me think about what was really holding me back. They told me that if I fail, it would be a good story.I launched my company's Instagram that day. This is the second installment of "Beyond the break," for which Business Insider's Shubhangi Goel attended a surf camp in Bali, Indonesia, reporting on career breaks and adventure sports.Read the first: My manager and I got laid off, so we packed up our wetsuits and went to surf camp in Bali I'm not in a rushIt's been a few weeks since I was at the surf camp and launched my business.…