OpenAI is making its TV debut at the Super Bowl

OpenAI joins Super Bowl ad rush amid $40 billion funding talks

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Sam Altman speaking with his hands up in the bottom right corner of the photo, he's sitting in front of a bluish background that says OpenAI
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at a session with SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son at the “Transforming Business through AI” event in Tokyo, Japan on February 3, 2025.
Photo: Tomohiro Ohsumi (Getty Images)
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OpenAI is reportedly making its largest marketing push yet on one of advertising’s most coveted nights.

The artificial intelligence startup will debut its first TV commercial during the Super Bowl, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.

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Compared to its AI rivals, OpenAI has made less of an effort to market its products despite taking the world by storm with the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022. In December, the company hired its first chief marketing officer, Kate Rouch.

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It’s unclear what the subject of OpenAI’s ad will be and how much it will cost the company, which is reportedly in talks to raise a funding round led by SoftBank (SFTBY-2.59%) of up to $40 billion. The funding round could bring OpenAI’s valuation to $340 billion.

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Advertisers are paying $8 million for some of the 30-second spots during Sunday’s Super Bowl matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs.

Google’s (GOOGL-0.08%) Super Bowl commercial, titled “Dream Job,” shows a father using the company’s Gemini Live AI assistant to practice for a job interview, drawing from his parenting experiences.

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The tech giant advertised its AI-powered Guided Frame feature during the Big Game last year, while AI startup Anthropic ran a five-second commercial calling its Claude chatbot “a next-generation AI assistant.”

Microsoft (MSFT+0.25%) bought its first Super Bowl ad in four years for last year’s game to market its Copilot AI assistant.

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In 2024, the AI industry spent $332 million advertising its products — more than double what it spent the previous year, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing estimates from MediaRadar.