OpenAI’s annual recurring revenue (annualized revenue run rate) is nearing $70 billion, according to people familiar with the company’s finances who spoke to Axios. The report states that enterprise sales more than doubled since July.
Why it matters
Rival Anthropic had been leading enterprise AI adoption, but OpenAI has been closing the gap. Both companies preparing for initial public offerings (IPOs) will give investors a clearer view of their revenue prospects and the large expenditures driving growth.
By the numbers
- OpenAI’s annualized revenue run rate has increased more than 70% since the start of the third quarter and is approaching $70 billion.
- Its business-to-business (B2B) revenue rose by more than 100% during the same period.
- On the consumer side, OpenAI added more revenue during the third quarter than it added in all of 2025.
The big picture
The growth occurs as both OpenAI and Anthropic ready themselves for IPOs, which should reveal more about their financial positions. According to an IPO prospectus seen by Reuters, Anthropic’s revenue grew twelvefold to nearly $4.6 billion in 2025. However, other reporting indicates the company’s growth accelerated further: The New York Times and other outlets reported that Anthropic’s annualized revenue reached roughly $65 billion in July and continued to surge after that.
Anthropic’s prospectus also discloses about $518 billion in future cloud, computing, and infrastructure obligations, per Reuters.
Concerns and risks
In its prospectus, Anthropic warned investors that its technology could pose an “existential risk” to humanity. Earlier reporting by Axios noted that leading AI labs are investigating tens of thousands of incidents in which their systems took actions that researchers consider problematic.
Reality check
Axios was not immediately able to obtain details about OpenAI’s expenses, which are an important part of assessing the company’s growth and profitability.
Conclusion
Available figures show rapid revenue growth at both companies alongside substantial infrastructure commitments and flagged risks. The upcoming IPO filings are likely to provide more detailed information on revenues, costs, and the potential risks associated with their technologies.
