OpenAI grew its revenue to $25 billion, maintaining an advantage over Anthropic, although profitability is still not yet available

Large AI startups are growing in revenue but remain unprofitable

Most leading artificial intelligence startups continue to operate at a loss, yet their revenues are rising rapidly. Anthropic recently announced that its annual revenue (calculated by extrapolating from monthly data) exceeded $19 billion. OpenAI has already surpassed it: by the end of last year the company recorded $21.4 billion, and by the end of 2025 revenue reached $25 billion—a 17% increase.

The problem of break‑even

According to Reuters (citing The Information), in order to exit losses, OpenAI plans to spend about $600 billion over the next few years. Even with such a growth rate, the company may only achieve financial sustainability by the end of the decade.

Management’s attitude toward spending

Company leadership often responds evasively and irritably when investors critically assess rising expenses. Their argument emphasizes that “there is no point in lamenting money now – it will pay off in the future.” At the same time most projects to build computing infrastructure are structured so that the startup itself does not bear direct responsibility: debt obligations fall on third‑party contractors. After a potential IPO (valuation could reach $1 trillion), investors’ focus on financial metrics will intensify.

Focus on the corporate market

Recognizing that selling AI technology to large companies is currently more profitable, OpenAI has already signed contracts with four of the largest consulting firms. This enabled it to achieve revenue of $20 billion in 2025 (by multiplying monthly revenue by 12). While Anthropic, with only $9 billion in adjusted annual revenue, is rapidly catching up, OpenAI’s $25 billion remains the leader among competitors.