OpenAI’s growth streak hit a rough patch in the second quarter. Internal projections aimed for $400 million in revenue and a surge in ChatGPT paid subscriptions. Instead, they pulled in closer to $350 million and saw paid users plateau around 2.5 million. That gap matters because investors and the board are pressing for a billion-dollar annual run rate as they gear up for an IPO, likely in 2025. Behind the numbers, usage of GPT-4 slipped after an initial rush. Companies that signed on early for customized AI tools are slowing deployments while bigger players like Google and Microsoft fine-tune their own offerings. OpenAI’s leaders—CEO Sam Altman, CTO Mira Murati and President Greg Brockman—warn teams to tighten spending and hit more rigorous product milestones. They’ve already paused hiring in non-essential roles and are reworking partnership deals to boost short-term cash flow. On the financing front, OpenAI is scouting new investors to close a late-stage funding round. Its last valuation topped $29 billion, but missing targets could undercut that figure. Venture backers including Sequoia and Andreessen Horowitz have signaled they’ll back a higher raise, though details on size and pricing remain under wraps. With 2025’s IPO window looming, OpenAI’s next few quarters will test whether it can translate hype into the kind of steady growth public markets demand.