Archive · 9 Oct 2026
OpenAI Revenue Run Rate Nears $50 Billion, Below Estimates
OpenAI sells AI tools, and its sales have been growing.
A report says its yearly sales pace was about $50 billion in September.
Some earlier estimates said it might be closer to $70 billion.
The higher number may have come from investors using a different calculation.
Companies do not always count sales in the same way.
Anthropic, another AI company, reported a $65 billion yearly sales pace at the end of July.
OpenAI is also discussing raising at least $30 billion from investors.
Reports give different figures for its valuation and different expectations for when it might go public.
OpenAI has said safety concerns affect its plans.
OpenAI’s annualized revenue was reported at roughly $50 billion as of September, below earlier estimates of nearly $70 billion.
The higher estimate reportedly came from investors applying 70% growth to an initial $40 billion figure, while the articles say revenue calculations differ between companies.
Anthropic reported a $65 billion annualized revenue run rate at the end of July, according to earlier reporting.
Reports describe OpenAI discussing a funding round of at least $30 billion, with one report citing a potential $1.4 trillion valuation and another citing a current $852 billion valuation.
OpenAI has cited safety concerns in its IPO timing; the reports differ on timing, and one says AI-related company shares fell after the revenue figures emerged.
- Who
- OpenAI and Anthropic; OpenAI investors are also discussed.
- What
- OpenAI’s reported annualized revenue is roughly $50 billion, below prior estimates of nearly $70 billion.
- When
- The reported OpenAI figure was as of September; Anthropic’s cited figure was at the end of July.
- Why
- The gap is attributed to differing annualized-revenue calculations and investors’ attempts to compare OpenAI with Anthropic.
Earlier Revenue Estimate
Revised Revenue Figure
How OpenAI’s revenue pace is estimated
Earlier Revenue Estimate
Some earlier reports put OpenAI’s annualized revenue near $70 billion; the article says investors reached this figure by applying reported 70% growth to an initial $40 billion baseline.
Revised Revenue Figure
The newer reported figure is roughly $50 billion as of September, and the articles caution that companies may calculate annualized revenue differently, including treatment of cloud-provider sales.
IPO timing
Earlier Revenue Estimate
One report says OpenAI executives have signaled an IPO launch in early 2027.
Revised Revenue Figure
Bloomberg reports that OpenAI has said it no longer expects to IPO this year while it focuses on safety concerns; the reports do not establish a single definitive IPO date.
OpenAI valuation
Earlier Revenue Estimate
One report says OpenAI is discussing a funding round that would value it at about $1.4 trillion.
Revised Revenue Figure
The other report says OpenAI is working to justify an $852 billion valuation; these figures are presented in different contexts.
- OpenAI annualized revenue
- Roughly $50 billion as of September, according to the report.
- Earlier estimate
- Nearly $70 billion; one report says investors derived it by applying 70% growth to an initial $40 billion figure.
- Anthropic annualized revenue
- $65 billion at the end of July, according to earlier reporting.
- Potential OpenAI funding
- $30 billion or more.
- OpenAI valuation figures
- One report cites a potential $1.4 trillion valuation for a funding round; another describes OpenAI as working to justify an $852 billion valuation.
- IPO timing
- One report says OpenAI executives signaled early 2027; another says OpenAI no longer expects to go public this year. The articles also differ on Anthropic’s expected IPO timing.
- Reported market reaction
- Shares of Nvidia, Oracle, CoreWeave, and other AI-related companies traded lower on Thursday after details of OpenAI’s revenue figures.
