OpenAI expects to reach $70 billion in annualized revenue by the end of 2026

OpenAI expects to reach annualized revenue of $70 billion or more by the end of 2026. Bloomberg reports this, citing people familiar with the situation. At the end of September, the figure stood at roughly $50 billion. For the target to materialize, the company would need to add about $20 billion on an annualized basis over the final quarter of the year, which means growing by roughly 40%. The company has not officially commented on the figures, and the report contains no breakdown by product.

What counts as annualized revenue

The metric is simple. Take revenue for a short period, usually a month, and scale it up to a full year. $50 billion at the end of September works out to about $4.2 billion per month. The $70 billion target means about $5.8 billion per month by December.

This approach has limits. It is not money actually received over a year, and it is not profit. The figure reflects the current pace well, but it is sensitive to seasonality, one-off large contracts, and discounts. Bloomberg does not say how exactly OpenAI calculates run-rate, or what share comes from ChatGPT subscriptions, the API, and enterprise contracts.

The scale of the jump

For context: at the end of 2025, Sam Altman said publicly that OpenAI's annual run-rate had passed $20 billion. Compared with $50 billion in September 2026, annualized revenue has grown about 2.5 times in nine months. The $70 billion forecast assumes the pace does not slow down.

The key numbers:

• Annualized revenue at the end of September 2026: about $50 billion
• Expectation for the end of 2026: $70 billion or more
• Required growth over the quarter: about $20 billion, roughly +40%
• Monthly equivalent: from ~$4.2 billion to ~$5.8 billion
• Source: anonymous people familiar with the matter; no company comment provided

This is one of the fastest revenue ramps among software companies. Still, revenue is only one side of the equation. OpenAI's spending on compute, chips, and data centers is also enormous, and the report says nothing about margins or when the company will turn a profit.

How to use these numbers

For developers and teams building products on the OpenAI API, this growth signals demand and suggests the platform has enough money for infrastructure. But it does not guarantee stable prices and limits: when load surges, access terms and pricing may change. It makes sense to build in the ability to switch between models from different providers.

Companies choosing an AI vendor should look past headline revenue and focus on SLA terms, data policy, and pricing stability in a 12–24-month contract.

Investors and analysts would do well to wait for confirmation. Data from anonymous sources and the run-rate metric leave room for many assumptions. If the company or its partners disclose the revenue structure, it will become clearer what is driving the growth: mass-market subscriptions, enterprise contracts, or API traffic. That determines how sustainable it is.