San Francisco – At Goldman Sachs’ Communacopia + Technology Conference, OpenAI chief financial officer Sarah Friar highlighted the company’s push into industry‑specific artificial intelligence solutions. She said OpenAI is targeting sectors such as chip design, life sciences and financial services, where businesses increasingly demand AI tools that are tailored to precise tasks and deliver clear return on investment.
Lower‑cost models for chip designers
Friar noted that OpenAI has already used its own technology to develop a chip called “Jalapeno,” which reached the “taped‑out” stage – the point at which a design is finalized and sent to a fabrication plant – within nine months. To make AI‑driven chip design more affordable, OpenAI recently reduced the price of its lower‑cost Luna model by 80 percent. The price cut, she said, has already spurred roughly a ten‑fold increase in usage of the model.
Pricing tied to business outcomes
OpenAI is experimenting with a pricing structure that links fees to the outcomes businesses achieve, rather than charging solely by usage. Friar explained that many enterprise customers are looking for measurable returns on their AI spending, and a results‑based model encourages adoption while protecting budgets.
Enterprise growth and market balance
According to Friar, enterprise revenue grew 32 percent from June to July, outpacing the overall annualized revenue growth of 20 percent for the same period. She said the mix of enterprise and consumer customers is now roughly even, a balance the company aimed to reach by the end of the year.
Competition with open‑source alternatives
OpenAI faces growing competition from Chinese open‑weight models and other rivals such as Anthropic. Friar argued that deploying OpenAI’s Luna model can be cheaper than running Chinese open‑source alternatives like Z.ai’s GLM 5.3 on cloud platforms, offering a cost advantage for businesses that need high‑performance AI without the expense of larger frontier models.
Broader industry impact
OpenAI’s Codex, a coding assistant, now has about 25 million users, according to Friar. The tool is attracting developers and enterprises seeking to accelerate software development. By expanding AI capabilities into specialized fields and offering more affordable pricing, OpenAI aims to solidify its position as a leading provider of enterprise‑grade AI while delivering tangible value to customers across multiple sectors.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
