As OpenAI positions itself for a potential public offering before year's end, a new internal directive is crystallizing: make ChatGPT indispensable at work. According to sources familiar with the matter, the company is steering its strategy sharply toward business applications.

In a recent all-staff meeting, Applications CEO Fidji Simo told employees the mission is to convert ChatGPT's vast user base—now over 900 million weekly actives—into power users who rely on it for core business tasks. "Our opportunity now is to take those 900 million users and turn them into high-compute users," Simo said, according to a transcript reviewed by CNBC. "We'll do that by transforming ChatGPT into a productivity tool."

The push comes amid a fierce battle for corporate clients with rivals Google and Anthropic, the latter also considering an IPO. OpenAI's own market debut could arrive in the fourth quarter, sources indicate, though timing remains fluid. CFO Sarah Friar has been bolstering the finance team with high-profile hires from Block and DocuSign to prepare.

This enterprise focus follows a period of internal prioritization. Last December, facing competitive pressure, the company scaled back investments in areas like health and shopping to concentrate on improving its core product. Simo noted the same intensity persists, but the company must choose its battles.

Financially, OpenAI is working to present a clearer picture to investors. After ambitious infrastructure spending plans caused market jitters late last year, the company has refined its targets. It now aims for approximately $600 billion in total compute expenditure by 2030, a figure more closely aligned with its projected revenue of over $280 billion for that year. The message is one of disciplined execution as the IPO window approaches.

Source: CNBC