OpenAI is reported to have told its investors that its annualised revenue stands at around $50 billion, $20 billion less than the figure that had been circulating

According to the Financial Times, OpenAI is citing an annual figure of “close to 50 billion” dollars, a far cry from the 70 billion reported at the end of September. The discrepancy is said to stem from a forced comparison with Anthropic.

On September 29, Axios reported that OpenAI was approaching $70 billion in annualized revenue. According to the Financial Times, picked up by TechCrunch on October 8, 2026, the company has told its investors a figure "close to $50 billion", or about twenty billion less.

OpenAI attributes the inflated projection to investors who were looking to compare its results with those of Anthropic, which was credited with a pace of $65 billion in July. The two companies don't count in the same way: Anthropic includes sales made through its cloud partners, OpenAI doesn't.

A question of credibility before the IPO

The discrepancy comes at a bad time for a company that raised $122 billion in March and is now targeting a listing in early 2027. For the record, leaked financial documents put its 2025 revenue at around $13 billion, and investors are questioning the profitability of colossal infrastructure spending in the face of significant operating losses.