OpenAI’s deals with publishers could spell trouble for rivals

OpenAI’s legal dispute with The New York Times regarding data for training its AI models may still be ongoing, but the organization is moving forward with partnerships with other publishers. In a recent announcement on Wednesday, OpenAI revealed that it has entered into contracts with Le Monde and Prisa Media to integrate French and Spanish news content into its ChatGPT chatbot.

Through this partnership, users of ChatGPT will have access to current events coverage from prominent publications such as El País, Cinco Días, As, and El Huffpost, among others. Additionally, this collaboration will contribute to the expansion of OpenAI’s training data, further enhancing the capabilities of its AI models.

While OpenAI has not disclosed the specific financial details of its partnerships with Le Monde and Prisa Media, we can estimate based on previous reports. According to The Information, OpenAI offered publishers between $1 million and $5 million annually for access to archives to train its GenAI models. Although this information pertains to article licensing agreements rather than the Shutterstock partnership, if we assume the figures remain consistent, OpenAI could be paying between $4 million and $20 million per year for news content.

While this amount may seem insignificant relative to OpenAI’s substantial resources — with a war chest exceeding $11 billion and annualized revenue surpassing $2 billion — it could still have a significant impact in outbidding AI rivals also seeking licensing agreements, as noted by Hunter Walk, a partner at Homebrew and the co-founder of Screendoor.