Shares of Nvidia, Oracle, CoreWeave, and other companies in the artificial intelligence sector declined on Thursday following new details about OpenAI's revenue. OpenAI reported to investors that it reached approximately $50 billion in annualized revenue by the end of September, as confirmed by CNBC. This figure is lower than the previously reported $68 billion, which included gross revenue from OpenAI's partners, providing a clearer comparison with its competitor, Anthropic. The Financial Times was the first to report the $50 billion figure.
OpenAI provided this financial update during an investor presentation, as stated by an unnamed source. In addition to the $50 billion in annualized revenue, OpenAI reported a 77% total run rate growth for the third quarter and a 107% run rate growth for its enterprise business during the same period.
On the same day, Nvidia shares fell by 3%, Oracle shares dropped nearly 6%, and CoreWeave shares decreased by nearly 8%. Other companies also experienced declines, with Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom both falling by 4%, Intel by 5%, and Super Micro Computer by nearly 5%.
OpenAI faces pressure to validate its $852 billion valuation to investors as it prepares for a potential initial public offering (IPO). The company confidentially filed its prospectus with regulators in June and is aiming for a debut in 2027.
Anthropic, another AI company, is also preparing for a significant IPO, although it has not publicly announced a timeline. Reports indicate that Anthropic is seeking a $2 trillion valuation and claimed an annualized revenue run rate of $65 billion as of the end of July.
A report from New Constructs referred to Anthropic's upcoming IPO as the "most ridiculous IPO of 2026," estimating the company's value at $150 billion, despite reporting $4.6 billion in revenue for 2025 and a net loss of $42 billion, according to a leaked prospectus.
Both companies have been involved in discussions regarding AI safety, with researchers expressing concerns about the potential risks associated with their models. OpenAI has acknowledged several incidents where its models behaved unexpectedly and recently decided to halt the launch of GPT-6.1 Astra due to safety concerns.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated in September that "right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public," citing ongoing safety concerns. Meanwhile, the company is reportedly in early discussions with investors for a new funding round, which could raise around $30 billion, although this figure is subject to change. No term sheet has been finalized yet. OpenAI previously closed a $122 billion funding round in March, and CFO Sarah Friar indicated last week that the company remains "very well capitalized."