OpenAI quarterly revenue reportedly tops $10 billion for first time

OpenAI quarterly revenue crossed $10 billion for the first time in the third quarter on strong demand for its recent AI models, Bloomberg reported citing anonymous sources. That would be an almost 50% jump from $6.7 billion in the second quarter and lift its annual revenue run rate to $50 billion. The result matters because it shows paid demand for AI is still expanding fast enough to support very large operating losses.

Stronger growth and narrower losses in Q3

The reported $10 billion quarter follows $6.7 billion in sales in the second quarter and $5.7 billion in the first quarter, according to the report. Growth between the first and second quarters was about 18%, so a move to more than $10 billion would mark a sizable acceleration in the growth rate. Profitability also appears to have improved, with adjusted operating margin narrowing from -150% in the second quarter to -109% in the third quarter. OpenAI is described as one of the first companies to commercialize AI models and as having more than a billion users, although most of those are likely free users or subscribers to its cheapest plans.

The improvement is attributed to a combination of tighter pricing, discounts, improving models, and a greater focus on enterprise products and AI agents that help complete tasks. OpenAI had lagged Anthropic in serving enterprises, a segment where Anthropic has pulled ahead in revenue growth. Anthropic recently reported third-quarter revenue of $17 billion and said its annual revenue run rate rose by $10 billion within a month to $81 billion as of the end of October. The two companies calculate annualized revenue differently, with Anthropic counting sales made by its cloud partners while OpenAI reports only its share of some sales through partners. Anthropic is seeking a $1.4 trillion valuation in an IPO likely to happen soon.

What the AI spending race means for work

For employees and managers, the numbers point to continued investment in enterprise AI tools and agents built to handle office and coding tasks. OpenAI broader early focus brought a large user base, while Anthropic took the lead in capturing the enterprise market for AI models. The reported shift toward enterprise products, discounts and tighter pricing suggests businesses are being offered more targeted ways to test paid AI in daily workflows. Competition also comes from models offered by Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and Google, plus cheaper capable models from open-source labs, especially those from China, which can affect choice, pricing and compatibility of tools used at work.

The figures are unconfirmed company results reported through anonymous sources, not audited earnings, and methods differ between OpenAI and Anthropic. They do not show profit, cash flow, costs for compute and staff, or how much revenue comes from free users converting to paid plans. The story does not prove that current growth rates will continue or that enterprise adoption will spread evenly across industries. It is most relevant to people buying or building AI products, and less directly relevant to casual users of free plans.