OpenAI has crossed $25 billion in annualised revenue and is quietly taking the first steps toward a public listing that could come as early as the final quarter of 2026, according to multiple sources familiar with the company’s internal planning. The figure represents a nearly 4x increase from the $6.6 billion annualised run-rate OpenAI reported in September 2024.
The Scale of the Run-Rate
At $25 billion ARR, OpenAI is now generating revenue at roughly the same level as public companies like Palantir and Snowflake — but with a still-growing subscriber base, aggressive enterprise contracts and an API business that is quietly becoming the largest B2B software line in the industry. ChatGPT Plus, Team and Enterprise together account for approximately $14 billion of the total, with the API and custom enterprise deployments making up the rest.
Anthropic on Its Heels
The OpenAI number lands the same week Anthropic reportedly briefed investors that its own annualised revenue has crossed $19 billion, up from roughly $5 billion a year ago. The two companies together now represent roughly 70 per cent of frontier-model API revenue, with Google’s Gemini and Meta’s Llama API lines trailing significantly. The pace of revenue growth at both firms is forcing a rethink of how venture capital values the next wave of AI-native software companies.
What an IPO Would Look Like
Sources familiar with the discussions say OpenAI is evaluating a dual-class share structure that would preserve Sam Altman’s voting control and protect the not-for-profit OpenAI parent’s board representation. A Q4 2026 listing at the current $500 billion valuation would make it the largest tech IPO since Meta in 2012. Bankers pitching for the mandate include Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase. The company has not publicly confirmed any IPO plans.
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