OpenAI accelerates revenue to $40 billion: growth rates doubled, but top management is in turmoil ahead of IPO
OpenAI has demonstrated impressive momentum: the company's annual recurring revenue (ARR) has reached $40 billion. This figure is double the forecasts made at the end of 2025 and becomes a key argument ahead of a potential initial public offering (IPO).
Such aggressive growth significantly strengthens the company's position in negotiations with investors. However, alongside its financial successes, OpenAI is being shaken by a wave of resignations among its senior management, adding a note of uncertainty to the story ahead of its stock market debut.
What lies behind the record growth rates
The main drivers of this surge were three areas. First, the base of ChatGPT subscribers continues to expand. In addition, sales of developer tools focused on code-related work are growing rapidly. Finally, the young but quickly gaining traction advertising business has begun to make a tangible contribution to overall revenue.
Internal data confirms: July turned out to be a record month, bringing in more funds than the entire second quarter. Company President Greg Brockman noted that revenue in July grew by more than 20% compared to June.
The new pricing policy also played its part. The reduction in service costs for corporate clients, made possible by cost optimization, not only did not lead to a drop in revenue but also attracted new large customers. Additional momentum was provided by AI agents: Codex for programmers and ChatGPT Work for office teams, which push users to switch to more expensive plans.
Earlier, Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar projected revenue of over $20 billion by the end of 2025. Now, management is setting a more ambitious goal — to receive half of its revenue from corporate clients by the end of the current year.
Personnel changes as a risk factor
Against the backdrop of financial successes, Chief Revenue Officer Denise Dresser, who worked at OpenAI for about eight months, is leaving the company. Her departure follows the resignation of Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap and Fiji Simo, who stepped down for health reasons. Global sales will now be led by Dali Rajic, who previously served as president at the cybersecurity company Wiz.
Turnover in OpenAI's upper echelon is a long-standing trend. In recent months, the company has also been left by the head of the ethics department, the head of the security division, and the former director of strategic development. Greg Brockman has taken on part of the management functions to stabilize the situation.
Preparation for the IPO is in full swing: the company has filed for a confidential listing and recently bought back $7 billion worth of shares from employees using its own funds. Meanwhile, competitor Anthropic, which plans to go public as early as October with a valuation of over $2 trillion, may beat OpenAI to the punch.
My view: Reaching the $40 billion ARR mark is certainly a strong signal for the market, demonstrating the scale of AI monetization. However, the rotation of key managers, especially those responsible for revenue, ahead of an IPO is a worrying sign. Investors should carefully assess how sustainable the current business model is and whether the accelerated growth is the result of temporary factors, such as aggressive price cuts.