AI Giants OpenAI and Anthropic Race Toward $70B Revenue Milestone

TLDR

• OpenAI has reached nearly $70 billion in annualized revenue, representing a surge of over 70% from the start of the third quarter.
• This milestone was disclosed on the same day OpenAI hosted its DevDay developer conference in San Francisco.
• Following the news, Oracle’s stock price jumped 5% to 7%, while Microsoft’s performance also benefited due to its OpenAI partnership.
• Competitor Anthropic achieved a $65 billion revenue run rate by July, with projected 2025 revenue climbing twelvefold to $4.6 billion.
• Industry observers anticipate both AI companies are preparing for eventual public market debuts that could establish valuation standards for the sector.

OpenAI has achieved an annualized revenue run rate approaching $70 billion, based on financial information disclosed by Axios and subsequently covered by various media sources on Tuesday.

This represents an impressive acceleration of over 70% from the beginning of the third quarter. The disclosure coincided with OpenAI’s annual DevDay gathering in San Francisco.

This yearly event highlights innovative solutions for developers who leverage the company’s platform.

Breaking Down the Revenue Expansion

The company’s revenue surge stems from multiple business segments. Enterprise-focused revenue has more than doubled since July.

Consumer-generated revenue during the third quarter alone has surpassed the entire consumer revenue total from 2025. Contributing factors include subscription services, corporate contracts, the Codex programming assistant, and a newly launched advertising platform.

The $70 billion projection extrapolates from the company’s latest monthly performance. This represents a significant acceleration from the $40 billion run rate that Bloomberg and Forbes documented just last month.

According to Axios, complete data regarding OpenAI’s operating costs remains unavailable. This leaves questions about the company’s net profitability unanswered.

OpenAI has not yet provided a statement in response to inquiries from Seeking Alpha.

Technology Sector Stock Performance

Following the revenue disclosure, Oracle’s stock climbed between 5% and 7%. As a major cloud infrastructure provider to OpenAI, Oracle’s fortunes are viewed as directly connected to the AI company’s success.

Microsoft maintains substantial financial connections with OpenAI as well. The tech giant generated $24.1 billion during fiscal year 2026 from its business arrangements with the AI firm.

Given that both OpenAI and Anthropic remain privately held, market participants frequently utilize Microsoft and Oracle equities as proxies for their expansion.

Meanwhile, Anthropic, OpenAI’s primary competitor, is experiencing rapid scaling. The company achieved a $65 billion annualized revenue run rate by late July.

This figure represents more than a sevenfold increase from its position at year-end 2025. Reuters obtained a preliminary IPO filing showing Anthropic’s contracted revenue expanded twelvefold to approximately $4.6 billion annually.

The document also revealed $518 billion in outstanding cloud infrastructure and computing commitments. Notably, it contained a risk disclosure stating the company’s technology might represent an “existential risk” to human civilization.

Currently, both OpenAI and Anthropic maintain their private company status. However, expectations are building that both organizations are positioning themselves for eventual stock market entries.

Should Anthropic proceed with a public offering, it would establish the first publicly traded valuation for a pure-play generative AI enterprise. This would enable direct market-based comparisons between the two companies.

An OpenAI public listing would require disclosure of independently audited financial statements covering both revenues and expenditures. Such transparency would eliminate current uncertainty surrounding its cost structure.

Following a March 2026 financing round, OpenAI achieved an $852 billion valuation. The Financial Times has reported preliminary discussions involving a potential $1.2 trillion valuation.

Shareholders in Microsoft, Oracle, and semiconductor manufacturers are monitoring these trends with significant interest. Any forthcoming public offering from either AI laboratory is anticipated to serve as a benchmark for the broader artificial intelligence infrastructure ecosystem.