OpenAI plans to go public in 2027, Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar told employees Wednesday, though an earlier debut is possible if growth accelerates.
Friar presented slides showing OpenAI's overall revenue run rate rose 35 percent quarter-to-date, with enterprise revenue climbing 50 percent. The company's AI coding and productivity products reached 20 million weekly active users. OpenAI generated $6.7 billion in second-quarter revenue, an 18 percent increase from Q1, pushing its annualized run rate past $40 billion.
The company confidentially filed its IPO prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission in June. Friar characterized the public offering as "a milestone" and "another fundraise."
Friar acknowledged rival Anthropic is also pursuing a confidential filing and conducting investor meetings. She told employees not to worry if Anthropic goes public first. "There is a chance they pull the cover off that confidential file in the coming weeks and become public in September. That's OK, we are running our own race," Friar said.
Anthropic informed investors over the weekend that its annualized revenue run rate reached $65 billion at the end of July, a sevenfold increase from a year earlier. The company reported preliminary second-quarter revenue of $11.5 billion.
OpenAI faces investor scrutiny over its $852 billion valuation ahead of a public offering. The company must demonstrate sustainable unit economics and a path to profitability at scale.
Friar's comments come as OpenAI has experienced executive turnover. Revenue chief Denise Dresser departed after eight months. Brad Lightcap, who spent eight years at the company, also left recently. Fidji Simo, who led product and business, stepped down in July citing chronic illness. CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman remain in place.
