OpenAI’s enterprise push lifts revenue to $10 billion, but Anthropic still leads

OpenAI’s revenue rose about 50% quarter over quarter in the third quarter, reaching $10 billion. At the same time, its adjusted operating loss grew to $10.9 billion. Anthropic reported $17 billion in revenue for the same period, with a loss of just $567 million, including stock-based compensation. To attract more enterprise customers, OpenAI is cutting prices on new models and expanding its business offering. Consumer ChatGPT now has 100 million paid subscribers.

OpenAI revenue reaches $10 billion, but Anthropic is growing more efficiently

The Wall Street Journal and The Information reported OpenAI’s revenue figures. Growth was 17–18% in the second quarter, and the company brought in $3.9 billion a year earlier. Revenue tripled over the year, but the adjusted operating loss edged up from $10.1 billion in the second quarter to $10.9 billion in the third.

The adjusted loss excludes $2.6 billion in stock-based compensation. Adjusted operating margin improved, however, from minus 150% in the second quarter to minus 109% in the third. A year earlier, it stood at minus 97%.

Anthropic earns more with smaller losses

OpenAI trails Anthropic, the developer of Claude, in revenue. Anthropic plans to go public next week and had already surpassed OpenAI in revenue in the second quarter, when it also posted a small operating profit. In the third quarter, Anthropic’s revenue grew 47% to $17 billion, while its operating loss, including stock-based compensation, was $567 million.

The difference comes down to how the businesses are structured. Anthropic focuses on enterprise customers and tools such as Claude Code and the Claude Cowork agent. OpenAI, by contrast, invests in broad research, including robotics, and supports an expensive consumer business.

OpenAI restructures its business

Earlier this year, OpenAI shifted its priorities to strengthen its position in the enterprise market. The company shut down several projects, including a video app, directed more resources to its coding tool Codex, and hired Dali Rajic as head of sales. OpenAI also cut prices on new models.

According to third-party sources, companies are looking for a cheaper alternative to Claude, driving up sales through OpenAI’s API. OpenAI president Greg Brockman called this a sharp turn in revenue momentum and cited JPMorgan Chase among its large customers. He said OpenAI’s enterprise business doubled in the third quarter and now accounts for most of its revenue.

The consumer business is growing too: ChatGPT has 1.2 billion weekly active users and 100 million paid subscribers, after adding 22 million new sign-ups. In August, ChatGPT’s new advertising product reached an annualized revenue run rate of $1 billion.

IPO plans amid a market downturn

The sell-off in technology stocks is affecting both companies. OpenAI expects to go public next year and is raising new capital at a $1.25 trillion valuation. So far, it has raised less than half of the planned $30 billion. Anthropic, too, has had to substantially lower its target IPO valuation.

Dataist’s take: Revenue growth does not resolve the question of how much OpenAI is spending to achieve it. The company’s losses remain in the billions, while Anthropic loses substantially less despite having higher revenue. OpenAI’s restructuring shows that enterprise customers and lower-priced offerings have become key priorities, but the company has yet to raise even half of the planned funds.