OpenAI accelerates revenue to $40 billion: record pace amid personnel reshuffles ahead of IPO
OpenAI is demonstrating impressive financial momentum, reaching an annual revenue run rate of $40 billion. This figure is double the forecasts the company provided at the end of 2025 and has become a key argument ahead of a potential initial public offering.
What's Behind the Explosive Growth
The main drivers of this acceleration are three areas. First, the ChatGPT subscriber base continues to grow. Second, sales of developer tools focused on code-related work are rapidly increasing. Third, a relatively young advertising business is making a notable contribution, already generating tangible cash flow.
According to my data, revenue in July grew by more than 20% compared to June. Notably, July was more productive than the entire second quarter — this points to a non-linear, exponential nature of growth.
The new pricing policy also played a role. In July, OpenAI reduced the cost of several services, making them more accessible to corporate clients. Instead of the expected revenue decline, this attracted new large customers, confirming the elasticity of demand for AI products.
AI agents provided additional momentum. Products like Codex for programmers and ChatGPT Work for office teams not only automate routine tasks but also push clients toward more expensive plans. This is a classic upselling strategy that works well in conditions of growing demand.
Earlier, Chief Financial Officer Sarah Fryer forecast revenue of $20 billion by the end of 2025. Now, management is setting a goal to derive half of its revenue from corporate clients by the end of the current year.
Personnel Turbulence: Risks for the IPO
However, not everything is smooth. In the coming weeks, Chief Revenue Officer Denise Dressel, who joined from Slack in December 2025 and worked for only about eight months, is leaving the company. Her departure is just the tip of the iceberg. Previously, Brad Lightcap, part of whose responsibilities were planned to be transferred to Dressel, as well as Fiji Simo, who left for health reasons, departed the organization.
Over the past few months, OpenAI has lost its head of ethics, its head of the safety division, and its former director of strategic development. President Greg Brockman has already taken on some management functions, trying to stabilize the situation.
Preparation for the stock exchange is in full swing: the company has filed a confidential IPO application and bought back $7 billion worth of employee shares at its own expense. However, competitor Anthropic, planning a listing in October with a valuation of over $2 trillion, may beat OpenAI to the punch. Final valuations will depend on whether revenue growth outweighs personnel risks.
My view: OpenAI is at a unique point — financial metrics are impressive, but top-management turnover creates uncertainty for investors. The AI market is overheated with expectations, and any negative signal could trigger a correction. The success of the IPO will depend not only on the numbers but also on the company's ability to demonstrate management stability.