OpenAI is reaching a revenue run rate of $40 billion: personnel reshuffles ahead of the IPO
OpenAI is showing impressive momentum: the company's annual recurring revenue (ARR) has reached $40 billion. This figure has doubled compared to the end of 2025, significantly strengthening the position of those who support going public. However, amid financial success, the company is losing key executives.
What is behind the record growth
The main drivers of such explosive growth are three areas. The number of ChatGPT subscribers continues to increase, sales of developer tools such as Codex are growing at a faster pace, and the relatively young advertising business is already making a tangible contribution to revenue.
Company President Greg Brockman told the team that revenue in July grew by more than 20% compared to June. Moreover, July was more profitable than the entire second quarter. This confirms that the business has reached critical mass.
Pricing policy also played an important role. Lowering the cost of services for clients, made possible by cost optimization, not only did not lead to a decline in revenue but also attracted new corporate customers. AI agents provided additional momentum: Codex for programmers and ChatGPT Work for office teams are pushing users to upgrade to more expensive plans.
Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar previously forecast revenue of over $20 billion by the end of 2025. Current figures have exceeded expectations twofold. Management now aims to generate half of its revenue from corporate clients by the end of this year.
Personnel turbulence
Simultaneously with the financial triumph, the company is being left by Chief Revenue Officer Denise Dresser, who worked at OpenAI for about eight months. Her departure comes amid a series of resignations of top executives, including Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap and Fiji Simo. The company has also been left by the head of ethics, the head of the security division, and the chief strategy officer.
Global sales will now be led by Dali Rajic, who previously served as president at the cybersecurity company Wiz. Brockman has taken on part of the management functions to stabilize the situation.
The race for market leadership
Preparation for the IPO is in full swing: the application has been filed in confidential mode, and the recent $7 billion share buyback from employees indicates high confidence in the valuation. However, competitor Anthropic plans to go public as early as October with a valuation exceeding $2 trillion. The outcome of this race will largely determine whether the impressive revenue growth outweighs personnel losses in the eyes of investors.
My analysis: Doubling ARR to $40 billion is certainly a strong signal for the market, but the turnover of key personnel could be a warning sign for institutional investors. The question is not whether OpenAI can maintain its growth pace, but how sustainable its operating model is without experienced managers. The market will be closely watching how the company handles this challenge ahead of the IPO.