About a week ago, it was reported that OpenAI’s annual revenue was approaching $70 billion, which is competitive compared to Anthropic’s reported utilization rates. However, the AI Institute is now said to be telling investors that the actual revenue is about $20 billion lower than that.
The Financial Times reported that the company told investors that annual revenue was “approaching $50 billion.” The $70 billion figure was previously reported by the news outlet and was based on information shared with OpenAI investors, the news outlet wrote. According to the FT, the figure was devised through “an attempt to directly compare Anthropic’s annual revenue with OpenAI’s own investors.”
It’s worth pointing out that OpenAI and Anthropic calculate their annual revenue differently, with Anthropic counting sales from cloud partners. OpenAI does not do this.
TechCrunch has reached out to OpenAI for comment.
OpenAI’s revenue issues are plaguing the company as it attempts to justify the huge investments being made on its behalf. The AI giant raised $122 billion in its March funding round alone. The company’s 2025 financial report leaked earlier this year showed it was making about $13 billion, but spending significantly more than that. OpenAI’s IPO, which was previously rumored to happen this year, has been postponed until early 2027.
