OpenAI Projects $70B Annualized Revenue by End of 2026, Seeks $30B Raise

OpenAI has told investors it expects annualized revenue to reach or exceed $70 billion by the end of 2026, led by its enterprise segment, Bloomberg reported. The company's annualized revenue stood at roughly $50 billion at the end of September. OpenAI shared the figures during discussions around a new fundraising effort. An investor presentation cited 77% total run-rate growth in the third quarter and 107% growth in its enterprise segment. The projection follows confusion over earlier reports that OpenAI was already approaching $70 billion; the $68 billion figure in those reports incorporated gross revenue from partner companies rather than OpenAI's net share. OpenAI and Anthropic calculate annualized revenue differently. Anthropic tallies the full gross value of sales via cloud partners such as Amazon, while OpenAI books only its own cut from arrangements with partners including Microsoft. Anthropic's annualized revenue reached $65 billion at the end of July. Shares of Nvidia, Oracle and CoreWeave fell Thursday after OpenAI's $50 billion figure became public. The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.4%. OpenAI is seeking about $30 billion in new funding at a $1.4 trillion pre-money valuation, with no term sheet finalized, and has held talks with UAE funds including Abu Dhabi-based MGX. It has delayed its IPO to at least next year, with executives targeting a 2027 debut.