OpenAI announced that ChatGPT has reached 900 million weekly active users, marking a 100 million increase since October 2025, alongside 50 million paying subscribers. The company reported accelerating subscription growth in early 2026 as usage continues to expand globally. The milestone coincides with OpenAI closing a historic $110 billion private funding round led by Amazon with $50 billion, alongside $30 billion each from Nvidia and SoftBank, at a $730 billion pre-money valuation. The round remains open to additional investors.
At the same time, OpenAI confirmed it has reached an agreement allowing the U.S. Department of Defense to use its AI models within classified systems. Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman stated the agreement embeds safeguards prohibiting domestic mass surveillance and requiring human responsibility in the use of force, including autonomous weapons systems. He indicated OpenAI will deploy technical controls and engineering support to ensure compliance with these principles.
The defense agreement follows a public dispute between the Pentagon and Anthropic, whose CEO Dario Amodei refused unrestricted military access. More than 60 OpenAI employees and hundreds at Google signed an open letter supporting safeguards around surveillance and autonomous weapons.
Separately, a newly released deposition in Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI criticized the company’s safety record while reiterating concerns about AI development speed and governance. The case centers on OpenAI’s transition to a for-profit structure and its commercial partnerships.
