OpenAI Tells Investors Third-Quarter Revenue Rose Nearly 50% to $10 Billion

The figures matter because OpenAI is trying to finish a fundraising round at a $1.25 trillion valuation while investors are questioning how much AI companies are worth. A return to faster growth gives the company a better argument for that price. It also lets investors compare it with Anthropic, which has published audited numbers ahead of its Nasdaq listing.

According to the report, third-quarter growth was well above the 17% increase OpenAI recorded in the second quarter over the first. A 50% rise to $10 billion puts second-quarter revenue at roughly $6.7 billion. The Information said third-quarter revenue was about 2.6 times the level of the same quarter a year earlier. OpenAI is privately held and does not publish its financial statements, so the numbers have not been independently audited.

The company shared the metrics while it works to close its latest round. Bloomberg and Reuters reported last week, citing people familiar with the matter, that OpenAI had completed a first close of about $11 billion at the $1.25 trillion valuation on November 6. According to those reports, SoftBank, Abu Dhabi's MGX, Coatue Management and a UAE-based syndicate anchored the first close, and the full round could reach about $20 billion. The Financial Times had earlier reported that OpenAI cut its target valuation from $1.4 trillion and reduced the amount it planned to raise. In March, OpenAI raised $122 billion at an $852 billion valuation.

Even after the rebound, OpenAI's reported quarter is smaller than Anthropic's. Anthropic's amended IPO registration, filed on November 2, showed third-quarter revenue of $16.962 billion, according to reports on the filing, and $33.242 billion for the nine months to September 30. The Claude developer is marketing its shares this week and plans to list on Nasdaq under the ticker ANT.

OpenAI has been adding enterprise and commercial products in recent weeks. On Tuesday it launched a beta that lets verified brands run their own AI agents inside ChatGPT, and it bought Odessia, an AI travel-booking startup. Investors in the round will also be weighing how fast OpenAI is spending on computing capacity, a cost that has grown alongside its revenue.

OpenAI did not make the figures public itself. One person told Bloomberg that the rest of the funding round was expected to close in the coming weeks, and that will show whether the faster growth has persuaded investors to put in the full amount.