OpenAI Business Users Hit 1M Milestone: What’s Next?

OpenAI will introduce premium plans, including advanced models like Strawberry and Orion, to further drive growth and innovation.

OpenAI’s business user base, including ChatGPT Enterprise, Team, and Edu, has surpassed one million paid users as of Sept. 5. The company saw a 67% increase in paid subscribers since April, when it had 600,000 users.

This growth is driven by the continued success of its AI-powered chatbot, which remains popular due to its advanced language models.

OpenAI to Introduce Premium Plans for New AI Models

With the increasing number of users, OpenAI is exploring new premium subscription plans for upcoming large language models, such as Strawberry and Orion. These new plans could cost as much as $2,000 per month.

OpenAI aims to cater to enterprise customers and other businesses that require access to more powerful and customizable AI tools. The news comes shortly after xAI, an AI startup led by Elon Musk, launched its Grok-2 AI assistant.

Available to X platform users with Premium or Premium+ memberships, the Grok-2 model has the potential to rival OpenAI’s products. Although xAI is still new, having launched in July 2023, Musk stated that the company could become a strong competitor to OpenAI by the end of 2024.

OpenAI’s business expansion coincides with its upcoming funding round. With big names like Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft interested in investing, OpenAI’s valuation could reach over $100 billion.

Microsoft, which has already invested $13 billion in OpenAI since 2019, holds a 49% stake in the company. Moreover, OpenAI announced that ChatGPT’s weekly active users have grown significantly over the past year, reaching over 200 million. Despite this impressive growth, the company’s annual revenue, estimated at around $3.4 billion, has fallen short of expectations.

OpenAI Supports California AI Bill

OpenAI is proactively engaging with emerging AI regulations. For instance, the firm has endorsed California’s AB 3211 bill, which introduces watermark requirements for AI-produced multimedia.

However, the company took a contrasting stance on California’s SB 1047, proposed by Senator Scott Wiener, which requires safety testing for certain AI models before deployment. Earlier in the week, the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom signed the Framework Convention on AI, the first international treaty to regulate AI systems.

Notably, the treaty emphasizes human rights and democratic values and holds signatories responsible for any harm caused by artificial intelligence technologies.

Mexican Startup Lands Major Adidas Contract Using AI

Meanwhile, Someone Somewhere, a startup based in Mexico City, has landed a major deal with Adidas after an AI-assisted design concept went viral. The company, founded in 2016 by Antonio Nuño, Enrique Rodriguez, and Fatima Alvarez, helps indigenous artisans in Mexico create handmade products that are applicable to clothing and accessories.

The three friends had long been involved in helping indigenous communities in Mexico and abroad. During their volunteer work, they realized that many women in these regions were skilled artisans, creating traditional crafts in sustainable ways.

This inspired the trio to connect these artisans with global companies, leading to the creation of Someone Somewhere. The company works with rural artisans from seven of Mexico’s poorest states, helping them formalize their businesses and build cooperative savings.

In 2023, the startup leapt forward by incorporating artificial intelligence into its design process. They utilized the Stable Diffusion AI model to generate images of well-known products that incorporated artisanal techniques.  

These AI-generated designs were shared on social media platforms, where they tagged major companies to showcase the potential of merging technology with traditional craftsmanship.

AI-Driven Artisanship Expands Someone Somewhere’s Reach

The breakthrough moment came in March 2023, when the startup posted an AI-generated concept of a Mexican National Team soccer jersey featuring hand-embroidered designs. This post went viral on LinkedIn, accumulating over one million views and catching the attention of Adidas.

Within a day, Adidas reached out, and shortly after, an agreement was made for a collection of Mexican National Team jerseys. Each jersey was hand-embroidered by women artisans from the Sierra Norte of Puebla, with every piece representing more than 11 hours of intricate work.

The viral marketing post expanded Someone Somewhere’s reach, bringing in over 50 million views and coverage from over 100 media outlets. In June, the company and Adidas officially launched the jerseys, which are available to adiClub members, Mexican soccer players, and content creators.

This partnership with Adidas marked a significant turning point for Someone Somewhere, propelling them into collaborations with other major companies, including Google, Uber, and Amazon.