OpenAI Told Investors Its Annualized Revenue Is Near $50 Billion, Below Earlier Reports

OpenAI told investors that its annualized revenue was roughly $50 billion at the end of September 2026, the Financial Times reported on October 8, 2026, and CNBC confirmed. That is about $20 billion below the figure of nearly $70 billion reported in late September, which counted sales through partners the way rival Anthropic does.

Annualized revenue, or run rate, projects a short period of sales over a full year. The number carries weight right now because OpenAI is back in funding talks with investors and because both OpenAI and Anthropic are preparing to go public.

What did OpenAI tell investors?

OpenAI shared a run rate of roughly $50 billion for the end of September 2026 in an investor presentation, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC on October 8. The same presentation showed 77% growth in total run rate during the third quarter and 107% growth in the run rate of the enterprise business, the person said.

The Financial Times was first to report the $50 billion figure, according to CNBC and TechCrunch, and The Information also reported that the run rate neared $50 billion. OpenAI expects to reach $70 billion or more in annualized revenue by the end of 2026, mainly through enterprise sales, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

Why is the new figure about $20 billion lower?

The two figures count partner sales differently: the higher number included the gross revenue of sales made through OpenAI's partners, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC, to allow a more direct comparison with Anthropic. CNBC put that earlier figure at $68 billion, while Axios, which first reported it on September 29, 2026, described it as nearly $70 billion.

According to Axios, Anthropic books the full customer payment as revenue when it sells through cloud partners and records the cloud provider's cut as an expense. OpenAI counts only its own share for certain partner deals. Both methods comply with US GAAP, the generally accepted accounting principles that US companies report under, Axios reported.

The FT, as summarized by TechCrunch, reported that the higher number came from attempts by OpenAI's own investors to build a direct comparison with Anthropic's annualized revenue. In its September 29 report, Axios said the run rate had grown more than 70% since the start of the third quarter, citing sources familiar with the financials.

How does OpenAI's revenue compare with Anthropic's?

On the figures each company gave investors, Anthropic is ahead: it said its annualized revenue reached $65 billion at the end of July 2026 (CNBC), against roughly $50 billion for OpenAI at the end of September. The two numbers are not built the same way, because only Anthropic's includes the gross value of cloud partner sales.

OpenAI's own numbers show how fast the base is moving. On March 31, 2026, when it announced a $122 billion funding round at an $852 billion post money valuation, OpenAI said in its announcement that it was generating $2 billion in revenue per month. That works out to about $24 billion a year. If both figures use the same basis, the roughly $50 billion reported for the end of September is about double that, six months later.

Reaching the $70 billion year end expectation reported by Bloomberg would take about 40% more run rate in one quarter, by the same arithmetic.

How did AI stocks react?

AI stocks fell on October 8, 2026 after the report: Nvidia shares dropped 3%, Oracle nearly 6% and CoreWeave nearly 8%, CNBC reported. Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom each fell 4%, Intel 5% and Super Micro Computer nearly 5%, according to CNBC.

The Nasdaq 100 index lost 1.4% and a gauge of large chip companies fell 3.4%, Bloomberg reported. The Decoder wrote that the selloff shows how closely the market now tracks the two largest US AI companies.

What does this mean for OpenAI's funding round and IPO?

OpenAI shared the new figures during talks for its next funding round, in which it is seeking $30 billion or more at a $1.4 trillion valuation before the new money, Bloomberg reported on October 8, 2026. Abu Dhabi's MGX is among the UAE investment funds in talks to anchor the round, according to Bloomberg, and CNBC reported that no term sheet has been finalized.

OpenAI confidentially filed its prospectus with regulators in June, and executives have signaled a stock market debut in 2027, CNBC reported. Anthropic is expected to go public as soon as November, according to Bloomberg, and is reportedly seeking a $2 trillion valuation (CNBC). OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in September that "right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public," a remark CNBC tied in part to concerns around safety.

What we don't know yet

• How much of OpenAI's revenue comes through partners and would be added under Anthropic's method.
• Whether OpenAI's March figure of $2 billion per month uses the same basis as the $50 billion run rate.
• Whether OpenAI will publish its revenue under one method or the other before its listing.
• The final size and valuation of the new funding round.