Thirty billion dollars is a financing, not a business model

OpenAI is reportedly trying to raise about thirty billion dollars before Anthropic lists, and chip stocks just ended their longest losing streak in eighteen years amid worries about the debt behind data centres. These are remarkable companies doing remarkable work. They are also playing a game very few businesses can play.

I think about this the way the ride-hailing market played out. One model spends capital to buy a brand and hopes the economics catch up. The other builds a service people pay for and returns money as it goes. ELP GPT is built on the second model. Every plan is priced above what it costs us to serve. Growth comes from customers who measured a return in their own two-week study and from referrals paid in product, not cash.

That is not a lack of ambition. It is a choice about who carries the risk. When a company finances losses, someone eventually pays: investors, employees or customers facing a price rise. When it runs on margin, the customer’s fee pays for the service they receive, and the surplus funds the next step.

The labs at the frontier will keep raising, and the rest of us benefit from their research. For everyone building on top, the discipline is simple: know your cost per answer, charge more than it, and let results do the marketing.

— Edgar Melo Costa, founder

Founder’s notes are opinion. They are not investment, legal or professional advice.