OpenAI Doubles to $10 Billion in Annual Recurring Revenue
OpenAI has reported a substantial increase in annual recurring revenue, rising to $10 billion as of June 2025—nearly double the $5.5 billion recorded in December 2024. This leap underscores the robust commercial appetite for its offerings, driven by consumer subscriptions, enterprise usage, and API sales.
The fuel behind this surge is ChatGPT, which now boasts over 500 million weekly active users and around 3 million paying business and education customers. Its growth trajectory remains steep even as additional toolsets, such as API services, enhance OpenAI's revenue streams.
Despite this revenue boom, profitability remains elusive. The firm reportedly incurred losses of approximately $5 billion last year, with break-even projected only by 2029 when it aims to achieve $125 billion in annual revenue. These figures reflect ongoing heavy investments in AI infrastructure, research and development, and talent acquisition.
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OpenAI is also broadening its technological and strategic footprint. In May 2025, it entered a landmark cloud computing agreement with Google, diversifying away from previous reliance on Microsoft Azure. This partnership adds to its compute alliance with SoftBank, Oracle and CoreWeave, easing the strain of escalating demand. Concurrently, OpenAI continues work on in‑house chip development and hardware integration through acquisitions such as Jony Ive's start-up and Windsurf.
Industry rivals are also reporting strong performance. Anthropic has surpassed $3 billion in ARR, while code-focused AI tool Cursor has reached half a billion. Yet none of these entities are yet profitable, underscoring the capital-intensive nature of advancing large-scale generative AI.
Signs of slowing adoption have begun to appear in some markets. In the United States, the share of businesses paying for AI model subscriptions grew to around 40% but entered a stalling phase in May—suggesting a potential saturation point in enterprise uptake.
OpenAI's financial position continues to draw heavy investment. In March, it closed a record-breaking $40 billion funding round led by SoftBank, valuing the company at roughly $300 billion. Microsoft, which holds significant equity and provides foundational cloud infrastructure, accounts for 20% of OpenAI's revenue share, though its licensing income is excluded from the $10 billion figure.
Looking ahead, OpenAI aims for $12.7 billion in full-year 2025 revenue, with eyes set on a long-term target of $125 billion by 2029. These lofty goals reflect confidence in continued AI demand—consumer and corporate—but also spotlight the challenge of translating massive scale into sustainable profitability.
Meanwhile, its strategic alliance with Google Cloud is a pragmatic pivot, acknowledging that no single partner can meet OpenAI's compute needs. This move may reshape market dynamics, positioning Google as a key AI infrastructure provider to even its technology rivals.
The firm's path contrasts sharply with that of its competitors. Anthropic's ascension to $3 billion ARR, backed by Google and Amazon, highlights a competitive AI landscape where major players vie for dominance through both partnership and innovation.
OpenAI's financial disclosures illustrate a generational shift in technological enterprise. The world's leading generative AI firm has leapfrogged its prior revenue milestone within a single year. The question now centres on translating this momentum into enduring profit, amid intensifying competition and signals of adoption plateauing.
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