OpenAI's annualized revenue falls $20 billion short of earlier reports, FT says

OpenAI's annualized revenue is about $20 billion less than previously reported, according to the Financial Times, citing financial documents shared with investors. The company told investors its revenue was approaching $50 billion at the end of September, far short of the $70 billion reported by media outlets late last month. The discrepancy stems from differing calculation methods, with OpenAI's investors attempting a direct comparison to rival Anthropic. Anthropic includes revenue from cloud partners like AWS and Google Cloud, while OpenAI does not, the FT reported, citing a person with knowledge of the matter. Annualized revenue run rate, a metric multiplying one month's revenue by 12, is sometimes misleading but popular among fast-growing startups. Both OpenAI and Anthropic are potentially preparing to go public, which could provide Wall Street clearer financial visibility.