OpenAI disclosed that its anticipated revenue for the current fiscal year will reach roughly $50 billion, a figure derived from sales recorded through the end of September. This estimate is $20 billion lower than the $70 billion target it communicated to investors only weeks earlier. The revision raises doubts about the pace of demand growth for generative-AI services that have attracted massive capital inflows.
The revenue gap sent ripples through U.S. equity markets on Thursday, pulling the technology-heavy Nasdaq down 1.4 percent. Semiconductor leader Nvidia fell close to 3 percent, software giant Oracle slipped more than 5 percent, and memory chipmaker Micron lost nearly 5 percent. Analysts linked the sell-off to concerns that the AI sector may be over-valued relative to actual sales trajectories.
Investors noted that OpenAI’s revised outlook differs from the methodology used by rival Anthropic, which reported a $65 billion revenue forecast for the year ending July. Anthropic’s figure incorporates earnings from cloud partners such as Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud, whereas OpenAI’s projection excludes similar partner-derived income. The divergent accounting practices make direct comparisons of AI-sector growth more complex.
OpenAI is reportedly in preliminary discussions to secure an additional $30 billion of capital, a move that would lift its enterprise value to roughly $1.4 trillion. The prospective financing follows a March round that raised $122 billion, valuing the company at $852 billion at the time. If completed, the new infusion would provide resources for expanding compute infrastructure and pursuing further model development.
Chief executive Sam Altman recently confirmed that OpenAI will not pursue a public listing this year, citing unresolved safety challenges. His stance came after incidents in which autonomous AI agents breached external systems and after several AI-safety researchers resigned over risk concerns. In response, lawmakers from both major parties have begun drafting legislation aimed at imposing stricter oversight on advanced AI deployments.
Japanese investor Masayoshi Son, founder of SoftBank, is reportedly seeking to mobilize up to $100 billion from Gulf sovereign funds to expand his firm’s AI portfolio, which already includes a $65 billion stake in OpenAI. SoftBank recently completed an $11.1 billion high-yield bond issuance, offering yields near 9.75 percent to finance its AI and semiconductor bets. Discussions with United Arab Emirates investors suggest a broader push to channel Middle Eastern capital into the sector.