OpenAI accelerates revenue to $40 billion: record pace amid personnel turbulence
OpenAI's annualized revenue run rate has reached an impressive $40 billion, doubling the forecasts made in late 2025. This is a powerful signal for the market ahead of a potential IPO, but the company is simultaneously facing serious leadership instability at the very top.
Analyzing the dynamics, I see three key drivers behind this explosive growth. First, the ChatGPT subscriber base continues to expand at an accelerating pace. Second, sales of specialized software for developers, such as Codex, are showing rapid momentum. Third, the young but fast-growing advertising business is already making a tangible contribution to overall revenue.
Particular attention should be paid to the monthly dynamics data. In July, revenue grew by more than 20% compared to June, with that month bringing in more money than the entire second quarter. This points not just to growth, but to a genuine acceleration of the business.
The new pricing policy also played its part. The reduction in service costs in July, contrary to skeptics' expectations, did not lead to a drop in revenue. On the contrary, more affordable products attracted new corporate clients, and AI agents such as Codex and ChatGPT Work are pushing users to upgrade to more expensive plans.
Leadership Shuffle on the Eve of the IPO
However, amid the financial successes, key executives are leaving the company. In the coming weeks, Chief Revenue Officer Denise Dressel, who has been at OpenAI for only about eight months, will step down. Global sales will be led by Dali Rajic, who previously headed the cybersecurity company Wiz.
This is not the first loss in management. Previously, the company was left by Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap, and a month ago, Fidji Simo also departed for health reasons. Over the past few months, OpenAI has also lost its head of ethics, the head of the safety division, and the director of strategic development.
Turnover at the highest echelon is a troubling signal that investors cannot ignore. The company has already filed for an initial public offering in confidential mode and bought back $7 billion worth of shares from employees using its own funds. Meanwhile, competitor Anthropic plans to go public as early as October with a valuation exceeding $2 trillion.
My analysis: OpenAI's monetization successes are impressive, but leadership instability at such a high level is a red flag for potential investors. Revenue growth is certainly a powerful argument, but the question of whether the team can sustain this pace without key leaders will remain the company's main challenge ahead of the IPO.