OpenAI launched its updated GPT-4o Image Generation capabilities last week, and it quickly gained popularity with Studio Ghibli-style generated images, which added over 1 million new users in an hour after its release. The new image-generating feature was initially exclusive to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Team users, but it has now made its way to the chatbot’s free tier.
The news was confirmed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on X.com, though it comes with its own limitations as free tier users can only generate up to 3 images per day. After the limit is reached, users will be prompted to upgrade to one of the paid tiers.
chatgpt image gen now rolled out to all free users!
— Sam Altman (@sama) April 1, 2025
In related news, OpenAI has now raised another $40 billion in funding. The latest round of funding is led by SoftBank and pushes OpenAI’s total valuation to $300 billion. OpenAI is set to receive $10 billion initially, with SoftBank contributing $7.5 billion, while the remaining $2.5 billion will come from an “investor syndicate”. The remaining $30 billion is said to arrive later this year. OpenAI also disclosed that it now boasts 500 million weekly users.
