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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Two figures for OpenAI’s annualized revenue were in circulation in late September and early October 2026. On September 29, The Information and Axios reported a run rate nearing $70 billion. On October 8, Axios reported that OpenAI’s annualized revenue was about $50 billion at the end of September, based on financial documents shared with investors. The two numbers are run-rate estimates that measure revenue differently. They are not audited annual revenue, and the roughly $20 billion difference does not mean OpenAI lost $20 billion in sales.
What each report said
The three reports differ in date, sourcing, and how they count sales that run through cloud partners. The table below lists them as reported.
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| Report | Date | Figure | Basis as reported | Treatment of cloud-partner sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Information | September 29, 2026 | Nearing $70 billion in annualized revenue | A person briefed on the numbers | Described in reporting as a grossed-up, comparison-adjusted figure; the adjustment is not itemized in the reports available |
| Axios | September 29, 2026 | Run rate near $70 billion | Sources familiar with OpenAI’s financials | Same adjusted comparison described above |
| Axios, summarizing Financial Times reporting | October 8, 2026 | About $50 billion in annualized revenue near the end of September | Financial documents shared with investors | Excludes sales through cloud partners such as AWS and Google Cloud, according to the reported explanation |
Read the table as a set of estimates made at different points, from different sources, with different adjustments. The $70 billion figures came from people briefed on the numbers. The $50 billion figure is the only one tied to documents shared with investors, and that is the figure Axios compared against earlier reports and described as roughly $20 billion lower.
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Why the two figures differ
Reporting attributes the gap to two factors. Neither has been confirmed in OpenAI’s own disclosures.
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Cloud-partner sales
According to the reported explanation, Anthropic’s annualized revenue figure includes sales made through cloud partners such as AWS and Google Cloud. OpenAI’s figure, as reported in October, does not include those partner sales. A company that books part of its sales through a cloud marketplace and a company that books them directly can report different totals for the same customer activity, which is why the two are not directly comparable without an adjustment.
An effort to make the numbers comparable
Axios reported that investors attempted to “gross up” OpenAI’s figure to compare it more directly with Anthropic’s. That adjustment appears to be the basis for the near-$70 billion comparison figure. The reports available do not show how the adjustment was calculated, and no document published so far lays out the arithmetic. Until the definitions and investor materials are public, the two numbers should be treated as different measures, not as a before-and-after of OpenAI’s revenue.
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Does the $20 billion gap mean OpenAI lost revenue?
No. None of the reports describe OpenAI’s realized revenue falling, and none describe a reversal of earlier sales. Annualized revenue is a projection of a recent period’s sales onto a twelve-month basis, so it is an estimate of pace rather than a total of money received. The $50 billion and $70 billion figures use different treatments of the same underlying activity, and Axios framed the difference as a gap between estimates. Calling it lost sales confuses a measurement difference with a change in business results.
Growth claims in the September 29 reporting
Axios also reported on September 29 that OpenAI’s annualized revenue run rate had risen more than 70% since the beginning of the third quarter, and that enterprise sales had more than doubled since July. Both claims were attributed to sources familiar with the company’s financials. They are not figures from a public filing and they have not been independently verified.
What is and is not established
- Established: Three reports describe OpenAI’s annualized revenue in late September 2026, with figures of nearly $70 billion (September 29, The Information and Axios) and about $50 billion (October 8, Axios, summarizing Financial Times reporting).
- Established as reported, not verified: The partner-sales explanation and the investor effort to gross up the figure come from reporting that cites people familiar with the matter.
- Not established: The investor documents themselves are not publicly available in the reporting. No official OpenAI statement or audited disclosure resolving the difference was found as of October 8, 2026. No named, on-the-record quote explaining the gap was located.
How to check the next revenue estimate
- Confirm the metric. Annualized revenue, run rate, and recognized revenue are different measures.
- Confirm the date. A figure “near the end of September” is not the same as a full-quarter total.
- Confirm how partner sales are counted. Ask whether sales through cloud marketplaces are included, excluded, or adjusted.
- Confirm the basis. Documents shared with investors, a named-source summary, and an anonymous-source estimate carry different weight.
- Check for a company statement or filing. Private-company estimates can change, and later disclosures may revise them.
Applying these checks to the late-September figures shows that the $20 billion gap is a difference in method and sourcing, and the most useful next step is a disclosed definition from OpenAI or the investor materials cited in the reporting.
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