OpenAI reports roughly $50B in annualized revenue
CNBC ● Covered by 6 sources
OpenAI told investors it’s at about $50B in annualized revenue, not the $68B that had been floating around. That gap hit AI stocks and raises fresh questions about how fast the company can justify its giant valuation.
Based on reporting by CNBC — read the original for the full story.
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OpenAI has told investors that its annualized revenue reached roughly $50 billion at the end of September, according to CNBC, which confirmed the figure. That is below the $68 billion number that circulated late last month, and the difference matters because the higher figure apparently included gross revenue from OpenAI’s partners. The Financial Times first reported the $50 billion figure.
The company’s latest investor presentation also showed faster growth in some parts of the business. A person familiar with the update said OpenAI cited 77% total run rate growth in the third quarter and 107% run rate growth in its enterprise business over the same period. OpenAI shared the numbers as part of an internal update, according to that person, who wasn’t named because they weren’t authorized to discuss it publicly.
Markets noticed. Nvidia fell 3% on Thursday, Oracle dropped nearly 6%, and CoreWeave slid nearly 8%. Advanced Micro Devices, Broadcom and Intel each lost ground as well, along with Super Micro Computer. The stock moves were a reminder that OpenAI’s numbers now ripple well beyond one company’s balance sheet.
The pressure is building because OpenAI’s valuation is enormous and the IPO talk is getting louder. The company is said to be valued at $852 billion, has confidentially filed its prospectus with regulators, and executives have signaled a 2027 debut. At the same time, OpenAI is said to be in early talks about another funding round that could raise around $30 billion, although no term sheet has been finalized.
Anthropic is part of the same race, and the comparison is getting sharper. It told investors in August that its annualized revenue run rate hit $65 billion at the end of July, and CNBC noted that the partner-revenue issue matters for a cleaner comparison. Both companies are also under pressure over safety, and OpenAI recently pulled plans for GPT-6.1 Astra after saying it did not meet its standards.
My take — AI-written commentary, not fact-checked reporting
This is what happens when AI companies start sounding like public utilities before they’re actually public. The revenue headlines are huge, but the accounting gymnastics and valuation talk are doing most of the work. Investors love a rocket ship until they ask where the seats are bolted down.
Read more about this at: CNBC
