Bloomberg: OpenAI expects to reach or exceed $70 billion in annualized revenue by the end of 2026
OpenAI is expecting to reach or exceed $70 billion in annualized revenue by the end of the year, driven largely by growth in its enterprise business, sources say. AI firms have often touted their annualized revenue as a key growth metric — but not all companies measure it the same way. Full story: t.co/aSBSIjN5ad 📷️: Minh Connors/Bloomberg
Context
The report, a day after the FT put the current figure near $50 billion, suggests OpenAI is telling investors it expects fast growth from its enterprise business through the end of the year.
On October 8 the Financial Times reported that OpenAI had told investors its annualized revenue was approaching $50 billion, about $20 billion below the figure of nearly $70 billion that Axios reported in late September. Bloomberg's report on October 9 is a forecast for the end of the year, not a figure for today. Bloomberg first posted the story late on October 8 US Eastern time, and the post shown here is its follow up on October 9.
Deep dive
Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that OpenAI expects to reach or exceed $70 billion in annualized revenue by the end of the year, driven largely by growth in its enterprise business. According to TNW's summary of the report, OpenAI shared the forecast with investors during talks over its latest funding round, and OpenAI declined to comment to Bloomberg.
The two reports describe different things. The FT said OpenAI's run rate was approaching $50 billion at the end of September, and that the earlier figure of about $70 billion came from attempts by OpenAI's own investors to compare it with Anthropic. Bloomberg's $70 billion is an expectation for the end of 2026. Both are based on unnamed sources, and OpenAI has not published either number.
Bloomberg also noted that AI firms do not all measure annualized revenue the same way. According to TNW, Bloomberg reported that Anthropic counts the gross amount of certain sales made through cloud partners such as Amazon, while OpenAI counts only its share of revenue from partners including Microsoft.
TNW, citing Bloomberg, reported that OpenAI is seeking $30 billion or more at a $1.4 trillion valuation before the new money. TNW also cited CNN reporting that tech shares fell on October 8 after the FT report.
What to expect next
Watch for OpenAI to confirm a figure itself, which it has not done for either report, and for terms of the funding round Bloomberg says it is negotiating.
The gap between a roughly $50 billion run rate at the end of September and a $70 billion target by December implies very fast growth in one quarter. Investors and analysts are likely to look for evidence, such as enterprise deal announcements, before treating the forecast as settled.