OpenAI's Annual Revenue Nears $70B logo

OpenAI's Annual Revenue Nears $70B

OpenAI's annualized recurring revenue is nearing $70 billion, up more than 70% since the start of the third quarter, as enterprise sales more than double.

By the Numbers

~$70B
Annualized revenue
>70%
ARR growth since Q3 start
>100%
B2B revenue growth
> all of 2025
Q3 consumer add
TC
By the AI Desk
Edited by Trace Cohen · Early-stage VC & angel · Founder, New York Venture Partners
1 min read
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THE RUNDOWN

1

OpenAI's ARR growing more than 70% since the start of Q3 alone shows the growth curve steepening, not just continuing, right as the company prepares IPO disclosures that will make this run rate public and auditable.

2

Enterprise (B2B) revenue more than doubled over the same period, while consumer revenue added more in Q3 alone than all of 2025 combined -- both sides of the business are accelerating at once.

3

A roughly $70 billion run rate implies a 20x-plus revenue multiple against OpenAI's reported $1.4 trillion valuation target, a multiple that only stays defensible if this quarter's growth pace continues.

4

The scoop lands the same week Bain estimated the whole AI industry needs $6 trillion in annual revenue by 2031 -- OpenAI's $70B is real progress toward that number, but still a small fraction of it.

TC

The VC Read · Trace's Take

Trace Cohen

A run-rate scoop from anonymous sources is directional, not auditable -- the number that actually matters is what OpenAI's S-1 discloses about the SHAPE of that $70B, specifically how much is multi-year enterprise contracts versus month-to-month consumer subscriptions, because those carry very different revenue-quality multiples.

Analysis

OpenAI's annualized recurring revenue is nearing $70 billion, up more than 70% since the start of the third quarter, according to Axios, citing people familiar with the company's financials.

Where The Growth Is Coming From

The growth is concentrated on the enterprise side: OpenAI's business-to-business revenue has more than doubled over the same period, while consumer revenue added more in the third quarter alone than the company added during all of 2025 combined -- a sign the growth curve is steepening, not just continuing.

“Whether that pace holds is the number that will matter most once OpenAI's actual S-1 financials are public, not the run-rate scoop itself.”

Why It Matters Right Now

The revenue scoop lands as both OpenAI and Anthropic prepare for IPOs that will require disclosing exactly this kind of run-rate detail publicly for the first time, giving investors their clearest look yet at the revenue opportunity against the extraordinary infrastructure spending both companies have committed to. A $70 billion run rate is a fraction of the roughly $1.4 trillion valuation OpenAI is reportedly seeking in its next round -- a 20x-plus revenue multiple that only gets more defensible if enterprise growth keeps compounding at this quarter's pace.

Whether that pace holds is the number that will matter most once OpenAI's actual S-1 financials are public, not the run-rate scoop itself.

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Key Sources

2 sources
SourceAxios

Reported by Axios · Analysis by Value Add Pulse.

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