TLDR
- OpenAI held early talks with The Trade Desk (TTD) to help sell ads on ChatGPT
- TTD rose 9.3% in after-hours trading following the report; AppLovin (APP) gained over 1%
- OpenAI is testing ads with logged-in adult users on Free and Go subscription tiers
- OpenAI’s annualized revenue hit $25B as of late February, up 17% from $21.4B at year-end
- OpenAI raised $110B in its latest funding round, with Amazon, Nvidia, and SoftBank contributing
The Trade Desk (TTD) jumped 9.3% in after-hours trading on Wednesday after The Information reported that OpenAI had held early discussions with the ad tech firm about selling advertisements on ChatGPT.
The Information says OpenAI held early talks with The Trade Desk $TTD about selling ads, including automating and scaling ChatGPT ad sales.
The report says OpenAI projects advertising could help double consumer ChatGPT revenue to $17B this year. pic.twitter.com/ld608Wquwm
— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) March 4, 2026
The talks are still early-stage, according to the report, which cited people familiar with the matter.
OpenAI recently began testing ads in ChatGPT in the U.S. The test is limited to logged-in adult users on the Free and Go subscription tiers.
The company appears to be leaning on outside partners to build out its advertising business rather than doing it all in-house.
Beyond The Trade Desk, OpenAI is also reported to be in conversations with brands, media agencies, and other ad tech firms as part of the early ads pilot.
Ad tech peer AppLovin (APP) also edged up more than 1% following the news.
OpenAI’s Revenue Surge
OpenAI’s annualized revenue hit $25 billion as of the end of February, according to a separate report. That’s up 17% from the $21.4 billion figure recorded at the end of last year.
The company is projecting total revenue of more than $280 billion by 2030, with roughly equal contributions from its consumer and enterprise businesses.
On the enterprise side, OpenAI faces competition from Anthropic and Google, both of which are actively selling AI capabilities to businesses.
A $110B Funding Round
Last Friday, OpenAI confirmed it had raised $110 billion in its latest funding round.
Amazon contributed $50 billion, while Nvidia and SoftBank each put in $30 billion.
The fundraise is one of the largest in tech history and gives OpenAI considerable runway to expand its business lines — including advertising.
Adding ads to ChatGPT is part of a broader push to diversify how the company makes money, alongside its subscription tiers and enterprise contracts.
The Trade Desk, which operates a self-serve programmatic ad platform, would bring scale and infrastructure to help OpenAI manage ad placements across its growing user base.
No final agreement has been confirmed by either company.
Considering a new stock? You may want to see what’s on our watchlist first.
Our team at Knockout Stocks follows top-performing analysts and market-moving trends to spot potential winners early. We’ve identified five stocks gaining quiet attention that could be worth watching now. Create your free account to unlock the full report and get ongoing stock insights.Get 3 Free Stock Ebooks
Discover top-performing stocks in AI, Crypto, and Technology with expert analysis.
- Top 10 AI Stocks - Leading AI companies
- Top 10 Crypto Stocks - Blockchain leaders
- Top 10 Tech Stocks - Tech giants
