FT reports OpenAI revenue run rate near $50B, below earlier estimate
A Financial Times account puts the figure OpenAI gave investors below an earlier $70 billion media estimate; the two reports use different sources and comparisons.
Two different reported run rates
The Financial Times reported on October 8 that OpenAI had told investors its annualized revenue was approaching $50 billion. TechCrunch, summarizing that report, contrasted the figure with Axios’s September 29 account that placed OpenAI’s annualized revenue near $70 billion, citing people familiar with the finances. The Financial Times said the higher figure came from investors’ attempts to make a direct comparison with Anthropic using information OpenAI had previously shared. That makes the gap a question of sourcing and calculation as well as the size of the business; neither publication described the $70 billion figure as audited annual revenue.
What the figures do and do not show
TechCrunch noted that OpenAI and Anthropic count annualized revenue differently, including how sales through cloud partners are treated. Annualized revenue projects a current sales pace across a year; it is not money already earned over a full year, and it says nothing by itself about profit or cash spending. OpenAI had not responded to TechCrunch’s request for comment when that account was published. The newer figure remains attributed to the Financial Times rather than confirmed in a public OpenAI financial statement. A direct comparison will require consistent definitions and disclosed reporting periods.