OpenAI reported an increase of about 50% in its revenue between the second and third quarters of 2026, reaching the $10 billion mark, which is equivalent to approximately R$ 54 billion. Despite this significant sales growth, the organization continues to register billions in operational losses and is still far from achieving desired profitability.
These results were presented to investors this Tuesday (10), amid intense competition in the chatbot creation sector. Its main competitor, Anthropic, which develops the Claude chatbot, recently disclosed a revenue of $17 billion (about R$ 91.8 billion) in the third quarter, showing a considerably smaller operational loss.
The data shows that OpenAI managed to accelerate its commercial development, yet it still faces obstacles to match its rival's financial efficiency. In the second quarter, the company had registered only an 18% growth in revenue compared to the first three months of the year.
A strategic focus for the company is to expand its presence in the corporate artificial intelligence (AI) market, a segment where Anthropic has been gaining ground with its products aimed at developers and companies. To compete in this environment, OpenAI implemented price reductions on its latest models, aiming to attract customers looking for more affordable options. Furthermore, the company appointed Dali Rajic as the new revenue director, tasked with strengthening commercial activities.
Another sign of expansion is the number of ChatGPT subscribers; the data shown to investors indicates that about 100 million individuals paid for some chatbot service, representing 8.5% of weekly active users. This percentage demonstrates modest progress compared to the previous quarter, signaling advancement in the tactic of converting free users into paying customers.
This year, the company also began integrating advertising into ChatGPT, an initiative that may help improve operating margins, although the specific financial results of this activity have not yet been disclosed.
The rivalry between the two companies intensified after Anthropic surpassed OpenAI in terms of revenue earlier this year. This growth was driven, among other elements, by the popularity of Claude Code, an AI tool focused on programming. In addition to presenting higher sales, Anthropic demonstrated greater operational efficiency. In the second quarter, it achieved a small operating profit before returning to register an operational loss of $567 million in the third quarter.
In contrast, OpenAI maintains a more diversified operation, covering both large-scale consumer business and research programs in areas such as robotics and image generation. During a technology conference promoted by The Wall Street Journal in early November, Greg Brockman, CEO of OpenAI, admitted that the first two quarters of the year were challenging for the company. He described the revenue evolution in the third quarter as an 'extraordinary acceleration,' mentioning a new collaboration with JPMorgan Chase.
Third-party information indicated that OpenAI managed to recover some of the ground lost to Anthropic in the third quarter, as some corporations began seeking more economical alternatives to the services offered by the competitor.
The improvement in commercial performance is particularly relevant because OpenAI is preparing to conduct its IPO next year. The company aims for increased sales and business expansion to strengthen its position with investors. However, the company also faces difficulties in fundraising. In its most recent funding round, it raised less than half of the initial target of $30 billion (approximately R$ 162 billion) and continues to seek new investors to finalize this operation.
Anthropic also has plans to enter the stock market. According to the Journal, the company is working with a valuation of $1.33 trillion (about R$ 7.18 trillion) for its Initial Public Offering, a value lower than the approximately $2 trillion (R$ 10.8 trillion) previously considered months earlier.
For comparison, in the third quarter of 2025, OpenAI had recorded a revenue of $3.9 billion (about R$ 21.1 billion) and an operating margin of -97%. Even with sales acceleration, the latest results indicate that the company needs to solve a crucial challenge: growing without increasing its losses.
