SAN FRANCISCO (JN) – OpenAI has appointed Slack chief executive Denise Dresser as its first Chief Revenue Officer, a move that underscores the artificial intelligence company’s focus on building a sustainable business model around its fast-growing products. The decision comes as the maker of ChatGPT faces mounting expectations from investors to convert rapid user growth into long-term profitability.
The San Francisco-based company said Dresser will lead its global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate artificial intelligence tools into everyday operations. Her appointment marks a structural shift for OpenAI, which has expanded at unprecedented speed since launching ChatGPT in late 2022 but has yet to turn a profit.
The hiring reflects a broader transition at OpenAI from research-driven startup to commercially focused technology company. While ChatGPT remains one of the most widely used AI tools globally, industry competition and rising infrastructure costs have intensified scrutiny over how the company plans to generate durable income.
A commercial mandate for OpenAI’s next phase
Dresser joins OpenAI after more than a decade at Salesforce, including serving as chief executive of Slack. Salesforce acquired Slack in 2020 for $27.7 billion, integrating the workplace messaging platform into its broader enterprise software ecosystem. Dresser played a central role in that integration and was named Slack CEO in 2023 by Salesforce chief executive Marc Benioff.
In a statement, Salesforce said it was grateful for Dresser’s 14 years of leadership. Slack’s chief product officer, Rob Seaman, will assume her responsibilities on an interim basis.
At OpenAI, Dresser’s mandate is clear: expand enterprise adoption and refine pricing and partnership strategies as AI tools become embedded in corporate workflows. The company has already secured commercial agreements across industries, but analysts note that converting large-scale usage into predictable revenue remains one of its central challenges.
Earlier this month, OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman sent an internal message urging staff to prioritize improvements to ChatGPT and delay other product initiatives. The note, described internally as a “code red,” highlighted intensifying competition and the need to focus on product performance.
Growth without profit
ChatGPT has grown rapidly since its debut, catalyzing global interest in generative AI and prompting widespread investment across the technology sector. Altman has said the platform now attracts more than 800 million weekly users.
Yet despite a reported valuation of about $500 billion, OpenAI remains unprofitable. The company has committed substantial long-term financial obligations to cloud computing providers and chipmakers that power its AI systems. Partnerships with companies such as Oracle and Nvidia underpin the computational infrastructure required to train and operate large-scale AI models.
These commitments, alongside heavy research and development spending, have fueled concerns among some investors about whether revenue growth can keep pace with costs. The debate has echoed broader discussions about the sustainability of the AI boom and whether current valuations reflect realistic long-term earnings.
Rising competition in generative AI
OpenAI’s early lead in generative AI has narrowed as established technology companies accelerate their own offerings. Last month, Google introduced Gemini 3, the latest version of its AI assistant, intensifying competition in consumer and enterprise markets.
Unlike Google, which generates the majority of its income from advertising tied to its dominant search engine, OpenAI has so far relied primarily on subscription revenue. While it offers premium tiers of ChatGPT to individuals and businesses, the majority of users access a free version.
In October, OpenAI introduced a web browser called Atlas, signaling ambitions to compete more directly with Google Chrome as AI increasingly shapes how people navigate the internet. However, OpenAI has not yet introduced advertising within ChatGPT, leaving its monetization strategy distinct from that of search-based competitors.
Dresser’s appointment suggests OpenAI may seek more structured and diversified revenue streams, particularly from enterprise clients. Industry observers say companies integrating AI tools into customer service, data analysis and internal productivity systems represent a potentially significant growth channel.
Investor pressure and long-term strategy
OpenAI’s backers include major technology firms and institutional investors that have placed large bets on the long-term promise of artificial intelligence. As capital expenditures across the sector surge, questions about returns have become more prominent.
For OpenAI, the challenge lies in balancing innovation with commercial discipline. The company continues to invest heavily in developing more advanced models while also expanding consumer-facing products. Bringing in an experienced enterprise executive signals a recognition that growth alone is no longer sufficient; revenue structure and profitability will increasingly define the next phase.
The appointment of a Chief Revenue Officer is a conventional step for maturing technology firms, but for OpenAI it carries symbolic weight. The company that sparked a generative AI revolution is now confronting the practical realities of scale: infrastructure costs, competitive markets and investor expectations.
Whether Dresser’s leadership can translate user momentum into sustained financial performance will be closely watched across the technology industry.
Source: AP News – OpenAI names Slack CEO Dresser as first chief of revenue as ChatGPT maker aims to make a profit
