OpenAI Reportedly Tells Investors Revenue Run Rate Nears $50 Billion, Below Earlier $70 Billion Estimate

TL;DR

• OpenAI reportedly told investors its annualized revenue is approaching $50 billion.

• The figure is roughly $20 billion below the estimate reported a little over a week earlier.

• According to the Financial Times, investors developed the higher estimate to compare OpenAI with Anthropic.

• The companies calculate annualized revenue differently, with Anthropic including sales through cloud partners.

OpenAI has reportedly told investors that its annualized revenue is approaching $50 billion, below the nearly $70 billion figure circulated in recent media reports.

The Financial Times reported that the earlier estimate arose from investors’ efforts to produce a direct comparison with rival Anthropic. The difference highlights how revenue calculations can complicate comparisons between the two AI companies.

OpenAI Clarifies Its Revenue Run Rate

A little over a week earlier, Axios reported that OpenAI’s annualized revenue was nearing $70 billion. That would have put the company close to Anthropic’s reported $65 billion run rate in July.

According to the Financial Times, OpenAI has since communicated a figure approaching $50 billion to investors.

The FT said the higher estimate was based on information shared with OpenAI investors and their attempts to calculate a figure comparable with Anthropic’s annualized revenue.

The discrepancy does not establish that OpenAI’s revenue fell by $20 billion. Rather, the reporting points to different calculations behind the two estimates.

Annualized revenue projects a recent pace of sales over a full year and is distinct from revenue actually earned during a completed financial year.

Different Calculations Complicate Anthropic Comparison

OpenAI and Anthropic use different approaches to reporting annualized revenue.

Anthropic includes sales made through its cloud partners, while OpenAI does not include those sales in the same way. Comparing their headline figures therefore requires care, since they do not measure revenue on an identical basis.

The earlier $70 billion estimate appears to have attempted to account for that difference. However, the figure OpenAI reportedly provided to investors is closer to $50 billion.

TechCrunch said it contacted OpenAI for comment.

Revenue Scrutiny Follows Massive Funding Round

The clarification comes as OpenAI faces pressure to demonstrate that its growth can support the substantial investment flowing into the company.

OpenAI raised $122 billion in a March funding round, according to its announcement. Meanwhile, leaked financial figures reported earlier this year indicated that the company generated approximately $13 billion in revenue during 2025 while spending significantly more.

Those figures have sharpened attention on the relationship between rising sales and the cost of developing and operating its AI products.

A higher revenue run rate signals growth, but it does not establish profitability or show whether spending is increasing at a similar pace.

Reported IPO Timeline Moves to 2027

OpenAI’s potential public listing remains another focus for investors.

An IPO had previously been rumored for this year, but subsequent reporting placed the expected timing in early 2027.

Ahead of any listing, the distinction between reported revenue, annualized estimates and adjusted comparisons with competitors could become increasingly consequential for how investors assess the business.