Analysis
Correction (Oct 15, 2026): The Financial Times and CNBC later reported that OpenAI's annualized revenue was about $50 billion as of late September, not ~$70 billion; the higher figure included gross revenue from partner companies, per Quartz via Yahoo Finance (Oct 8). The original Sept. 29 report follows.
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.
“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.”
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.
Why It Matters Right Now
The revenue scoop lands as Anthropic prepares for an IPO and OpenAI works toward an eventual listing that CEO Sam Altman has said won't come in 2026 -- filings 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.