OpenAI Annualized Revenue Is $50 Billion, Not $70 Billion, Due to Accounting Differences

OpenAI's annualized revenue stands at $50 billion, about $20 billion below the widely reported $70 billion figure, a gap that stems from how AI companies account for partner sales, Axios has learned. The $70 billion number, reported in September by Axios and other outlets, was an attempt to "gross up" OpenAI's revenue using rival Anthropic's methodology for a more direct investor comparison. Anthropic counts revenue from cloud partner sales in its top line; OpenAI records only its share of certain partner sales. Both companies are GAAP compliant but view their role in transactions differently, according to accounting professor Francine McKenna. Sources said investors sought an apples-to-apples figure, prompting the higher estimate. Annualized revenue is common in Silicon Valley, but public-market investors typically favor actual revenue over such constructs. Anthropic has told investors it posted an operating profit in the second quarter, excluding stock-based compensation, per the Financial Times, though those figures largely preceded computing deals expected to cost hundreds of billions.