OpenAI’s revenue is reportedly $20 billion less than previously projected
OpenAI’s revenue is reportedly $20 billion less than previously projected
OpenAI informs investors that its annual revenue is approximately $5 billion, lower than the previous expectation of close to $7 billion, which was based on a direct comparison of revenue with Anthropic; the company previously reported revenue of about $1.3 billion in its 2025 financial report but with higher expenses, and its initial IPO plan for early 2027 has been postponed.
In Brief
Posted:
11:19 AM PDT · October 8, 2026
A little over a week ago, it was reported that OpenAI’s annualized revenue was approaching $70 billion, a figure that would have made it competitive with Anthropic’s reported run rate. Now, however, the AI lab is said to have told investors that the real revenue is some $20 billion lower than that.
The Financial Times reports that the company has told investors that its annualized revenue is “approaching $50 billion.” The $70 billion figure was previously reported by news outlets and based on information that had been shared with OpenAI investors, the outlet writes. That figure was devised via “attempts by OpenAI’s own investors to produce a direct comparison with Anthropic’s annualised revenues,” per the FT.
It’s worth pointing out that OpenAI and Anthropic calculate their annualized revenue differently — with Anthropic counting sales made by its cloud partners. OpenAI doesn’t do this.
TechCrunch reached out to OpenAI for comment.
The issue of OpenAI’s revenue has troubled the company, as it attempts to justify the gargantuan investments being made on its behalf; the AI giant raised $122 billion during a March funding round alone. The company’s leaked 2025 financials earlier this year showed it had made about $13 billion but spent significantly more. OpenAI’s IPO, which was previously rumored to be materializing this year, has been pushed off until early 2027.
Source: TechCrunch · AI · techcrunch.com