OpenAI's annualised revenue is about $20B below the $70B reported, FT says

OpenAI told investors its annualised revenue was approaching $50 billion at the end of September, roughly $20 billion below the near-$70 billion figure reported in late September, the Financial Times reported on 8 October 2026, citing financial documents shared with investors.

What happened? The FT says the higher number stemmed from attempts by OpenAI's own investors to produce a direct comparison with Anthropic's run rate. The two labs count revenue differently: Anthropic includes sales made through its cloud partners, while OpenAI does not.

Context: Data firm TickerTrends said its own tracking had OpenAI at $50.44 billion on 28 September, within about 1% of the figure given to investors. TechCrunch notes OpenAI's IPO, once rumoured for this year, has reportedly been pushed to early 2027.

Sources: Financial Times; TechCrunch; TickerTrends