OpenAI Reports 50% Revenue Surge in Q3 as Rival Anthropic Prepares IPO
OpenAI reported $10 billion in Q3 2026 revenue, a 50% jump from the previous quarter. Operating losses grew to $10.9 billion as paid ChatGPT subscribers hit 100 million.
OpenAI reported $10 billion in revenue for the third quarter of 2026, marking a 50% increase compared to the previous quarter, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. While rival Anthropic recorded higher third-quarter revenue of $16.96 billion, OpenAI has begun closing the gap with a faster growth rate than Anthropic, which grew by 47% compared to the second quarter.
Next week, Anthropic is set to complete its initial public offering at an expected valuation of $1.5 trillion, significantly lower than the $2 trillion valuation the company hoped to achieve just a few weeks ago. OpenAI had also hoped to go public in the fall, but ultimately decided to postpone its IPO to 2027, partly due to market uncertainty and a potential strategy to close the gap with Anthropic beforehand.
According to the report, OpenAI informed investors that its operating loss margin narrowed from minus 150% in the second quarter to minus 109% in the third quarter. However, the absolute operating loss increased from $10.1 billion to $10.9 billion, excluding $2.6 billion in stock-based compensation paid to employees during the third quarter.
The number of paying ChatGPT subscribers reached approximately 100 million in the third quarter, accounting for 8.5% of total weekly active users, which are estimated at roughly 1.2 billion.
