OpenAI's annualised revenues fall $20bn short of its own forecast
OpenAI annualised revenues $20B less than previously signalled
OpenAI's annualised revenues are running about $20bn below the figure the company had previously signalled, according to the Financial Times. The shortfall casts doubt on the breakneck growth trajectory investors have priced into the AI boom, and raises fresh questions about whether the company's spending on models and infrastructure can be sustained by its actual sales.
OpenAI annualised revenues $20bn less than previously signalled
- wepple
This is an interesting shift compared to the past where OpenAI would’ve been public a long time ago (due to various regulations) so we would have much more direct insight.
Right now we have a ~$1 trillion company which a ton of the “economy” and valuations are based on, with near zero information on how it’s doing.
- digitaltrees
What’s it called when you misstate revenue while also taking money from investors?
- virtuosarmo
Gift link: https://giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/actions/redeem/f77156...
Apparently they overstated revenue in an attempt to try to provide a direct comparison with Anthropic's reported metrics.
From the article: "According to a person with knowledge of the matter, the discrepancy arose from attempts by OpenAI’s own investors to produce a direct comparison with Anthropic’s annualised revenues. The pair calculate the figure in different ways, with Anthropic including the revenue from sales via cloud partners such as AWS and Google Cloud, while OpenAI does not.
Efforts to “gross up” OpenAI’s annualised revenue led to reports that the group’s annualised revenue had hit $40bn in August. The company has since told investors its revenues have grown more than 70 per cent, leading to the $70bn figure"
**sorry the gift link can only be viewed 3 times..
- Refreeze5224
Do you know who is not surprised by this? Ed Zitron, and anyone who has read his articles or anyone who have looked into these companies at any level deeper than "AI do cool things! AI must be good investment! AI must make much money!"
- FLeXMurphy
Does this align with what Zitron was complaining about? Or is it a broken-clock-right-twice-a-day thing? neutral question.
- an0malous
> As OpenAI bides its time, the company is engaging in early stage discussions with investors about a potential new funding round. The company could raise around $30 billion, CNBC previously reported, but that figure could change.
I predicted last month when they launched Luna that they had raised more funding and I suspect this tidbit dropped to CNBC is just prepping the public for a fundraising that’s already happened. There will probably be an announcement this month.
- piker
> OpenAI is under pressure to justify its $852 billion valuation to investors as it gears up for what is widely expected to be a blockbuster IPO. OpenAI confidentially filed its prospectus with regulators in June, and executives have signaled that the company is eyeing a 2027 debut.
> Anthropic is also readying for a major IPO. The company has not officially disclosed when it plans to debut, but it’s been engaging in meetings with prospective investors and is reportedly seeking a $2 trillion valuation. In August, Anthropic told investors that its annualized revenue run rate hit $65 billion at the end of July.
Is 15 billion annualized (30% more) supposed to justify the $1 trillion+ difference between the two valuations sought in any event? Or are Anthropic's numbers better because of margins or something?
- qwerasdf5
For those that care about the truth: This is a non-story.
The $70b estimate was based on a comparison to Anthropic, which includes revenue from cloud providers. OpenAI does not include this in their numbers.
So, the number did not come from OpenAI. It was an accounting mistake made by some investors and media, who did not adjust for this before reporting on it. I see fintwit calling on FT/Axios to issue a retraction; good luck with that.
It sure is interesting to see the rush to judgement in this thread. Another poster correctly pointed out this mistake (now buried under the sea of misinformed posts trending above it.) The Internet is cooked.