OpenAI Boosts Revenue but Lags Behind Anthropic

Key Takeaways

1OpenAI saw its quarterly revenue soar by 50% to $10 billion

2Anthropic reports $17 billion in revenue and significantly lower losses

3OpenAI is shifting its strategy towards enterprises and lowering its prices

4ChatGPT has 100 million paying subscribers and 1.2 billion weekly active users

Why it matters : These figures illustrate the intense competition between OpenAI and Anthropic, the pressure on profitability, and the growing importance of the enterprise market in AI.

OpenAI announces a strong quarter with $10 billion in revenue, but its operational losses remain massive. Anthropic, focused on enterprise clients, claims higher revenues and significantly lower losses as it approaches its IPO.

Record Revenues but Lagging Efficiency

In the third quarter, Anthropic saw its revenue grow by 47% to reach $17 billion, with an operating loss, including stock-based compensation, of $567 million. Meanwhile, OpenAI improved its adjusted operating margin, moving from -150% in the second quarter to -109%, compared to -97% a year earlier. During the same period, OpenAI's adjusted operating loss increased from $10.1 billion to $10.9 billion. Despite these losses, OpenAI reported quarterly revenue of $10 billion. Anthropic had already surpassed OpenAI in revenue in the second quarter and recorded a small operating profit at that time.

Shift to Enterprise at OpenAI and Price Pressure

Earlier this year, OpenAI reorganized its priorities to focus more on the enterprise market: some projects, such as a video application, were halted, more resources were allocated to the coding tool Codex, and Dali Rajic was hired as the head of sales. At the same time, prices for new models were lowered. The efficiency gap between OpenAI and Anthropic can be attributed to their business models: Anthropic focuses on enterprise clients with tools like Claude Code and the Claude Cowork agent, while OpenAI funds extensive research, including in robotics, and manages a costly consumer business. According to external data, companies were turning to lower-cost solutions than Claude, thereby boosting API sales. Greg Brockman, president of OpenAI, presented the recent dynamics as a turning point for revenue and mentioned clients such as JPMorgan Chase. He stated that OpenAI's enterprise business doubled in the third quarter and now represents the majority of revenue.

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ChatGPT's Consumer Business Continues to Grow

On the consumer side, ChatGPT reports 1.2 billion active users each week. The platform has 100 million paying subscribers, having added 22 million new subscriptions. In August, ChatGPT's new advertising offering generated an annualized revenue of $1 billion. ChatGPT now has 100 million users subscribed to a paid plan.

Rapid Growth, Costly Growth: Q3 Figures

According to reports, OpenAI's revenue growth in the third quarter was about 50% quarter-over-quarter, reaching $10 billion, after a growth of 17% to 18% in the second quarter. A year ago, revenue was $3.9 billion. This increase in the third quarter was driven by new AI models and demand from enterprises, while operating losses continue to rise. Stock-based compensation amounts to $2.6 billion and is not included in the adjusted operating loss. The quarter is characterized by strong revenue growth, accompanied by rising costs.

Fundraising and IPO Plans Amid Turbulent Markets

The recent decline in tech stocks in the financial markets is affecting both OpenAI and Anthropic. OpenAI is preparing for an IPO expected next year and is currently seeking to raise funds based on a valuation of $1.25 trillion, but has so far raised just under half of the anticipated $30 billion. For its part, Anthropic is considering an IPO as early as next week and has been forced to significantly lower its valuation target.