Every time someone claims OpenAI is growing at an unprecedented pace, it’s worth pausing to look at the bigger picture — starting with Google’s early years. A comparison of the two reveals that, despite the hype, Google’s first decade outshines OpenAI’s journey in several key ways.
First, OpenAI isn’t as young as it might seem. Founded in 2015, the company is now a decade old, not the fresh startup some assume. Yet, its growth trajectory pales when measured against Google’s. Over its first 10 years, Google transformed the internet, dominating the search market with unmatched efficiency. OpenAI, while innovative with ChatGPT, has entered the search space but still holds less than 10% market share—a far cry from Google’s early dominance.
Capital efficiency tells an even starker story. Google burned through approximately $1.7 billion in its first decade, a figure that reflects prudent scaling and revenue generation. OpenAI, by contrast, has already consumed over $50 billion in the same timeframe, raising questions about its financial sustainability. This gap highlights how Google built a global empire with a fraction of the resources OpenAI has deployed.
Inflation adds another layer. Google’s $10 billion in revenue by 2008 carried significant weight, both in real terms and as a share of the global money supply. Adjusted for inflation, that figure dwarfs OpenAI’s current earnings, underscoring the economic context of Google’s achievements.
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The takeaway? OpenAI is indeed growing rapidly, and its AI breakthroughs are impressive. But Google’s equity story — built on market leadership, efficiency, and lasting impact — remains far more compelling. We’ve simply forgotten how revolutionary those early years were. Next time the OpenAI hype train rolls by, a glance at this chart might put things in perspective.
