OpenAI's annualized revenue nears $70B; it seeks $30B+ at a ~$1.4T valuation as a bridge in place of an IPO
On Sept 29, 2026 Axios reported that OpenAI's annual recurring revenue was nearing $70B, up more than 70% since the start of Q3, with business revenue more than doubling. The same day Bloomberg reported that OpenAI aims to raise at least $30B at a valuation of about $1.4 trillion before the new money, as bridge financing while it defers an IPO. Talks were early and terms could change.
Key facts
- ARR nearing $70B, up more than 70% since the beginning of Q3 2026 (Axios, citing sources familiar with the financials)
- B2B revenue grew more than 100% over the same period; enterprise sales more than doubled since July (Axios)
- Consumer: OpenAI added more revenue in Q3 2026 than in all of 2025 (Axios)
- New round: at least $30B at about $1.4T pre-money; early-stage talks, terms may change; meant as bridge financing in place of an IPO (Bloomberg via Reuters)
- Previous round: $122B closed in March 2026 at an $852B post-money valuation (SoftBank, Amazon, Nvidia anchors)
- Oct 1: SoftBank and Nvidia each paid the final $10B of their $30B pledges to the March round (SoftBank stake ~13%, cumulative $64.6B); this completes the old round and is separate from the new $30B+ raise, which still had no reported close or lead investors (Reuters, The Information)
- Funding SoftBank's final tranche: on Sept 24 SoftBank sold $11.1B of bonds ($10B in dollar notes across three maturities plus about €1B in euro notes) to pay the last $10B of its $30B commitment; its shares rose more than 7% (CNBC, Benzinga)
- Context: on Sept 12 Altman ruled out an OpenAI IPO in 2026 (see 2026-09-12-altman-rules-out-2026-openai-ipo)
What happened
Two reports on the same day, DevDay: Axios on OpenAI's revenue run rate, and Bloomberg on a new private round sized as a bridge to a later IPO.
Why it matters
A ~$1.4T pre-money valuation would be about 1.6x the March round, set while Anthropic's leaked prospectus reportedly targets $2T+. It shows the two leading labs racing on revenue and capital even as both call for slowing frontier development. Figures are anonymous-source reports, so confidence is medium.
Changelog
- 2026-09-29: created
- 2026-09-30: added Economic Times link (no close or lead investors reported as of Sept 30 evening)
- 2026-10-01: noted that SoftBank and Nvidia completed the March round's final tranches on Oct 1; the new round was still unclosed
- 2026-10-04: added SoftBank's $11.1B bond sale (Sept 24) that funded its final tranche; new round still had no reported close or lead investors
People
Related events
- OpenAI closes record $122B funding round at $852B valuation ★★★★
- Sam Altman rules out a 2026 OpenAI IPO, calling it "ill-advised" given AI safety concerns ★★★
- Reuters obtains Anthropic's IPO prospectus: $2T+ target valuation, $4.6B 2025 revenue, 80 pages of risk factors incl. existential risk ★★★★
- OpenAI DevDay 2026: dots agents, GPT-6.1 Sol, Ultrafast, a $500 Pro plan and 20+ launches ★★★★
- OpenAI's enterprise revenue overtakes its ChatGPT consumer business for the first time ★★★
- ChatGPT Ads pass a $1B annualized run rate in under 200 days; OpenAI adds Sponsored Agents and expands to 40+ countries ★★★
- Altman: no OpenAI IPO until it can make 'confident safety claims', but waiting too long would be 'bad for the world' ★★★
- SoftBank's Masayoshi Son, OpenAI's biggest outside backer, warns superintelligence in the wrong hands is 'super dangerous' ★★★
Sources (9)
- pressAxios: Scoop: OpenAI's annual recurring revenue nears $70B
- pressBloomberg: OpenAI targets $30 billion in new funding at $1.4 trillion value
- pressReuters via Investing.com: OpenAI targets $30 billion funding at $1.4 trillion valuation
- pressReuters via Investing.com: OpenAI's annualized recurring revenue nears $70 billion
- pressTechCrunch: OpenAI reportedly in talks to raise $30B round at $1.4T valuation
- pressQuartz: OpenAI targets $30 billion funding round at $1.4 trillion valuation
- pressEconomic Times: OpenAI targets $30 billion in new funding at $1.4 trillion value
- pressCNBC: SoftBank shares jump over 7% after $11.1 billion bond issuance to fund OpenAI bet
- pressBenzinga: SoftBank launches $11.1B bond sale to fund final $10B OpenAI investment tranche
id: 2026-09-29-openai-70b-arr-30b-raise · updated 2026-10-04 · open in the interactive timeline