Last week, after the most recent round of funding, ChatGPT creator OpenAI was valued at $157bn (£120bn). It generated annualised revenue last month of just $3.6bn. This valuation is based on the prospect that companies across the world will adopt artificial intelligence (AI), using large language models such as ChatGPT. However, there is little direct link between the buyers and developers such as OpenAI.
This opens the door for middlemen such as IT consultants to come in and take a slice of this funding. In the UK, companies such as Bytes (BYIT) and Softcat (SCT) are already gearing up to provide the software and hardware for this shift.
But there are also global giants swooping in to try to secure their own slice of the pie. Indian IT giant Infosys (US:INFY) is taking a similar approach to Bytes, working with Microsoft (US:MSFT) to sell on more of its AI packages to customers. This week, Microsoft and Infosys announced a closer relationship, after first inking an AI partnership a year ago. Infosys executives flagged earlier this year that client spending was starting to shift from the infrastructure needed for AI to the services they can provide within the sector.