OpenAI accelerates revenue to $40 billion: record pace ahead of IPO and personnel reshuffles
OpenAI is demonstrating impressive financial momentum: the company's annual revenue run rate has reached $40 billion. This figure is double the forecasts management outlined at the end of 2025 and becomes a key argument ahead of the upcoming initial public offering.
My analysis of internal processes shows that such explosive growth is not a coincidence but the result of systematic monetization of the product line. Three areas have been the main drivers: the expanding base of ChatGPT subscribers, the rapid increase in sales of developer tools, and the unexpectedly successful launch of the advertising model.
Company President Greg Brockman has already informed employees that revenue grew by more than 20% in July alone compared to June. Notably, the July result was higher than the entire second quarter. This points to growing momentum rather than a one-off spike.
Pricing strategy and new products
A key role was played by the revision of pricing policy. In July, OpenAI lowered the cost of several services, making them more accessible to corporate clients. Contrary to skeptics' fears, the expected revenue decline did not occur—on the contrary, the influx of new customers more than compensated for the lower average ticket size.
AI agents provided additional momentum. Codex, which automates programmers' work, and ChatGPT Work, aimed at office teams, are actively pushing users to upgrade to more expensive plans. This is a classic example of upselling, which I have long predicted for mature AI platforms.
Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar previously forecast revenue above $20 billion by the end of 2025. Now the bar has been raised: management expects that by the end of this year, half of revenue will come from corporate clients.
Executive turbulence on the eve of the IPO
However, not everything is smooth. In the coming weeks, the company will lose Chief Revenue Officer Denise Dressel, who served only about eight months after moving from Slack. Her duties are being transferred to Dali Rajic, who previously led the cybersecurity company Wiz.
This is not the first loss in senior management. Previously, Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap and Fiiji Simo left for health reasons. Over the past few months, the company has also lost the head of ethics, the head of the security division, and the chief strategy officer. Brockman has been forced to personally take on part of the management functions to stabilize the situation.
Preparation for the stock exchange is in full swing: the IPO filing has been submitted in confidential mode, and the recent $7 billion buyback of employee shares using the company's own funds confirms confidence in the valuation.
My verdict: Competitor Anthropic plans to go public as early as October with a valuation above $2 trillion, which creates additional pressure. The success of OpenAI's listing will directly depend on whether the impressive revenue momentum can outweigh investor concerns about executive instability. For now, the fundamental metrics look more convincing than the organizational problems.