OpenAI expects US$70 billion in annualized revenue by end of 2026

OpenAI is expecting to reach or exceed US$70 billion in annualized revenue by the end of the year, according to people familiar with the matter, driven largely by growth in its enterprise business.

The ChatGPT-maker’s annualized revenue was roughly US$50 billion at the end of September, the people said. The figure represents a projection of OpenAI’s yearly sales based on a shorter period.

The company shared the numbers with investors as part of discussions for its latest fundraising effort, said the people, requesting anonymity to discuss private information. The company is in talks to raise US$30 billion or more at a US$1.4 trillion valuation before the new money, Bloomberg first reported in September.

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OpenAI, Anthropic and other AI firms have often touted their annualized revenue as a key growth metric. However, not all companies measure it the same way. Anthropic ’s annualized revenue hit US$65 billion by the end of July, Bloomberg News previously reported.

Some outlets reported last month that OpenAI was already projecting nearly US$70 billion in annualized revenue, based on investor estimates. The Financial Times reported Thursday that the discrepancy came from OpenAI’s investors attempting to calculate OpenAI’s annualized revenue using the same methods as rival Anthropic PBC, which accounts for sales from cloud providers differently.

On Thursday, tech shares led losses in the S&P 500 after reports that OpenAI’s annualized revenue would be lower than some previous estimates. The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.4 per cent. A gauge of chip giants sank 3.4 per cent.

While OpenAI has pushed back plans for an initial public offering until at least next year, citing its focus on AI safety efforts, Anthropic is expected to sell shares in an IPO as soon as November.