OpenAI Tells Investors Its Annualized Revenue Is $50 Billion, Not $70 Billion
OpenAI is telling investors its annualized revenue is approaching $50 billion, not the $70 billion figure widely reported last week. The gap reflects different accounting: Anthropic includes cloud-partner sales, while OpenAI does not.
OpenAI has told investors its annualized revenue is “approaching $50 billion” — roughly $20 billion less than the $70 billion figure that had been widely reported just over a week earlier, according to the Financial Times.
The $70 billion figure had circulated among news outlets based on information shared with OpenAI investors. The Financial Times reports that the higher number emerged from “attempts by OpenAI’s own investors to produce a direct comparison with Anthropic’s annualised revenues.” A key complication: the two companies calculate annualized revenue differently. Anthropic counts sales made by its cloud partners, while OpenAI does not, making a direct comparison difficult.
The revenue discrepancy adds to ongoing scrutiny of OpenAI’s financials as the company works to justify the scale of investment it has attracted. In March 2026, OpenAI raised $122 billion in a single funding round. Leaked 2025 financial documents showed the company brought in approximately $13 billion that year while spending significantly more. The company’s anticipated IPO, previously expected in 2026, has been pushed back to early 2027.
TechCrunch reported on October 8, 2026 that it had reached out to OpenAI for comment. No response was included in the report.