The revised figure

The Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing financial documents shared with OpenAI's investors, that the company's annualised revenue stood at close to $50 billion as of the end of September. That is roughly $20 billion below the $70 billion that media outlets had reported the previous month, based on earlier information given to investors. OpenAI did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on the revised figure. The Guardian reported that the $50 billion projection is based on sales up to the end of September and covers this year's revenue, while the FT figure is framed as annualised revenue at that date.

Annualised revenue figures for OpenAI and Anthropic ($bn)
OpenAI, earlier figure given to investors70OpenAI, end of September50Anthropic, end of July65

Why the two companies' numbers differ

Annualised revenue takes one month's sales and multiplies them by twelve, a metric that fast-growing AI companies use to show momentum. The gap appears to come from how each company counts sales made through cloud partners. Anthropic includes revenue from sales via partners such as Amazon's AWS and Google Cloud, while OpenAI does not. Anthropic's annualised revenue crossed $65 billion in July, according to Reuters sources. A person familiar with the matter told CNBC that the earlier $68 billion figure counted gross revenue from OpenAI's partnerships with companies like chipmaker Nvidia. NRC reported that investors had estimated OpenAI's July figure at $40 billion, and that the July figure was later found to be around $30 billion.

Markets and investor reaction

The news weighed on technology shares on Thursday. The Nasdaq closed down 1.4%, Nvidia fell 2.9% and Micron declined 4.8%, according to the Guardian. Oracle fell between 5.5% and nearly 6% depending on the source, and SpaceX dropped 4% according to RTE. Investors track annualised revenue at OpenAI and Anthropic as a measure of demand for artificial intelligence, and the figures help justify large data centre spending.

Funding and listing plans

Bloomberg, cited by WirtschaftsWoche, reported that OpenAI is telling investors it expects annualised revenue of at least $70 billion by the end of 2026, up from $50 billion at the end of September. OpenAI is in early-stage talks to raise $30 billion at a valuation of about $1.4 trillion. Its March round raised $122 billion at a valuation of about $852 billion. Sam Altman said last month that the company would not float on the stock market this year, citing safety concerns. OpenAI had confidentially submitted paperwork for an initial public offering in June, according to RTE. Anthropic, which raised $65 billion in May at a valuation of $965 billion, is expected to list next month.

Key dates in OpenAI and Anthropic funding and revenue
  1. OpenAI closes $122bn funding round at about $852bn valuation
  2. Anthropic raises $65bn at $965bn valuation
  3. OpenAI confidentially submits IPO paperwork
  4. Anthropic annualised revenue crosses $65bn
  5. OpenAI annualised revenue near $50bn at end of September
  6. Financial Times reports the revised OpenAI figure

Wider pressures

In the second quarter, Anthropic's quarterly revenue of $11.5 billion overtook OpenAI's $6.7 billion for the first time, according to Reuters. The Financial Times reported that SoftBank chief executive Masayoshi Son is seeking to raise up to $100 billion from Gulf investors, including in the United Arab Emirates, to fund new AI investments. SoftBank completed its $30 billion investment in OpenAI last week. Democrat and Republican politicians are calling for new rules to govern AI systems, after two Anthropic researchers warned that development without safeguards could lead to the extinction of the human race.