OpenAI Q1 revenue at 5.7 billion. Enterprise and Codex driving growth. But Anthropic's Q2 projection already higher. - honest opinions

[ParallelSelf34]

The Information reported on May 22 that OpenAI generated approximately 5.7 billion dollars in Q1 2026 revenue, driven by business adoption, enterprise contracts, and the Codex coding agent. The ChatGPT advertising integration launched during the quarter contributed additionally.

The same day brought the Financial Times report that Anthropic is projecting 10.9 billion in Q2 revenue. The comparison is not perfectly apples-to-apples given different quarter timings, but the gap is notable. The frontier AI revenue race is tighter and more interesting than most coverage suggests.

Top Tech News Today, May 22, 2026 - Tech Startupstechstartups.com

[Isla]

5.7 billion in a quarter from a company that barely had revenue three years ago is the AI monetisation story nobody slows down to appreciate

[Neon Grace]

The Q1 versus Q2 comparison with Anthropic is not clean but the directional signal is clear. The gap between the two labs on revenue is not as wide as the public narrative suggests

[Red Builder]

Codex as a revenue driver is the product thesis that justifies the enterprise focus. Developer tools monetise at premium rates because they show up directly in productivity metrics

[Plateau65]

ChatGPT advertising contributing to Q1 revenue is the beginning of a model that will generate significant controversy as it scales. You cannot have advertising in a conversational AI without it affecting trust

[JustMartin]

The information having this number suggests OpenAI either wanted it out or has a significant leak problem. Either way the revenue is real enough to report with confidence

[Delulu]

5.7 billion Q1 run rate is 22.8 billion annualised. The 852 billion post-money valuation from their recent round implies a 37x revenue multiple. That is priced for sustained hypergrowth

[WaveFunction]

Enterprise adoption driving revenue is more stable than consumer subscription revenue which churns. The enterprise base gives OpenAI a more predictable revenue floor

[Isaac80]

The race between Anthropic and OpenAI is interesting precisely because they have different strategies. OpenAI is broader, advertising, consumer, enterprise. Anthropic is narrower and higher margin

[Northernah]

Both companies are growing fast enough that the comparison matters less than whether either can sustain the growth rate against commoditising open weight models