OpenAI expects its annualized revenue to reach at least $70 billion by the end of 2026, thanks to the commercial growth of the company behind ChatGPT.
The projection follows reports that OpenAI was generating revenue at an annualized rate of roughly $50 billion at the end of September. Reaching the new target would therefore require the company to increase its revenue run rate by about 40% during the final months of the year.
The figure does not mean OpenAI expects to record $70 billion in total revenue during 2026. Instead, it is the amount the company would generate over a full year if its December revenue pace continued for 12 months.
Enterprise AI Demand Could Drive Growth
A major driver of OpenAI's growth is expected to be its enterprise business as companies deploy ChatGPT and OpenAI models across coding, research, customer support and other business functions.
The company's revenue numbers have also attracted attention after reports of differences in how AI companies account for sales generated through cloud partners.
OpenAI's reported September annualized revenue of around $50 billion was below some earlier estimates of roughly $70 billion. The discrepancy reportedly resulted partly from different methods used to calculate revenue generated through cloud distribution agreements rather than a sudden decline in OpenAI's underlying business.
Despite the accounting debate, the company is reportedly still targeting an annualized revenue run rate of at least $70 billion by December.
OpenAI Valuation Could Reach $1.4 Trillion
OpenAI's impressive revenue growth comes as the company reportedly explores another major fundraising round.
The AI developer has discussed raising at least $30 billion at a potential valuation of around $1.4 trillion. This reflects investor expectations that generative AI could become one of the world's largest technology markets.
However, OpenAI is also spending enormous amounts on computing infrastructure and model development, which makes revenue growth very important as investors question whether the AI industry's massive capital expenditure can ultimately generate enough returns.
