OpenAI sales growth slows to 18%, losses widen ahead of IPO

OpenAI's deceleration in quarterly sales growth to 18%, coupled with deepening losses, signals a slowdown in momentum at a critical moment. The company's trajectory stands in sharp contrast to Anthropic's reported annualized revenue of $65 billion—a sevenfold jump from the prior year—which has surpassed OpenAI's own run rate by more than 50%. Both firms are preparing for major public offerings, but the divergence in their financial performance introduces risk for investor confidence in OpenAI's valuation and long-term prospects.

The underlying driver of both companies' margin pressure is clear: a price war with Chinese competitors. These rivals have closed the capability gap significantly—their models are only marginally less advanced than U.S. offerings—while undercutting on price. This dynamic leaves U.S. labs defending premium positioning at the top of the market while ceding the middle and lower tiers, according to an expert cited by the Financial Times. For OpenAI, which relies on pricing power to offset its high research and infrastructure costs, the combination of slower growth, deeper losses, and margin compression from Chinese competition creates a difficult narrative for an upcoming IPO.