OpenAI Puts Models on Google Cloud, Expands ChatGPT Ads to 26 More Countries

The Google Cloud move will bring OpenAI’s GPT products to the cloud provider’s model garden and its Antigravity coding tool in the coming weeks, according to CNBC. “Google Cloud’s longstanding investment in machine learning and AI has made it a destination for AI workloads and the developers and data scientists building them,” OpenAI said in a blog post. The effort reflects OpenAI’s push to expand distribution of its technology to enterprise developers as it seeks to build its business beyond consumer roots, CNBC reported.

Less than six months ago, OpenAI said Microsoft would no longer have the exclusive license on its intellectual property. The day after that ended, Amazon unveiled plans to host OpenAI models, CNBC reported. Google and OpenAI previously partnered last year, when the AI lab said it was using Google’s cloud to run ChatGPT and its application programming interface.

Google has been on a run in cloud computing this year. Annualized revenue growth in the segment accelerated to about 82% in the second quarter from 63% in the first quarter, due partly to strong demand for AI models and custom chips, according to CNBC. Amazon and Microsoft posted second-quarter cloud growth of 37% and 42%, respectively. All three companies report quarterly results next week.

Most business spending on AI is on OpenAI and Anthropic, according to data from corporate card issuer Ramp cited by CNBC, though some corporate IT departments have integrated Google’s Gemini models into their systems. In September, Google announced its next-generation Gemini 4 Argon model. OpenAI was founded in 2015 partly as a counterweight to the concentration of AI research at companies like Google. Two years later, Google employees submitted the influential Transformer academic paper that propelled AI, but it was OpenAI that helped bring the technology forward with ChatGPT. OpenAI is now courting investors at a $1.4 trillion valuation and targeting an initial public offering, CNBC reported.

On ChatGPT Ads, OpenAI said free users and Go subscribers in countries including Argentina, Peru, Nigeria, South Africa and Ukraine will start to see ads in ChatGPT. The ads are separate from ChatGPT’s response to prompts, do not influence its answers and are clearly labeled, the company said. “Our goal is to make ads useful to people as they pursue their goals and make decisions — and effective for the businesses that advertise with us,” OpenAI said in a release.

OpenAI’s ad business hit a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate in August, up from $100 million in March, CNBC previously reported. The company said Wednesday that more than 100,000 advertisers have run campaigns on the platform. OpenAI began testing ads in the U.S. in February, a decision that was ridiculed by chief rival Anthropic. Anthropic made OpenAI’s ads push the focus of its first Super Bowl campaign and pledged to keep its competing chatbot, Claude, ad free. Both OpenAI and Anthropic are preparing for initial public offerings, though they have not publicly disclosed when they plan to debut. OpenAI executives have signaled they are eyeing a 2027 listing, while Anthropic’s leaders have been meeting with prospective investors in recent weeks, CNBC reported.

OpenAI said it plans to continue developing additional ChatGPT Ads formats, measurement capabilities and buying options during its next phase of growth. The company is also looking at new ways for businesses to natively interact with ChatGPT consumers. “As more people turn to ChatGPT to explore needs, evaluate options, and make decisions, we see an opportunity to help them discover products and services — and to help businesses of every size grow and thrive,” OpenAI said.