OpenAI CFO Sarah Frier Tells Employees Not To Worry About Anthropic's IPO Timeline, Says Company Is 'Running Its Own Race'

OpenAI's CFO Sarah Frier reassured employees during an all-hands meeting that the company's IPO timeline should not be a cause for concern. She indicated that OpenAI expects to go public in 2027, although the actual listing could occur sooner if business growth continues. Frier emphasized that the IPO is merely a progression in OpenAI's fundraising journey, highlighting the company's recent $122 billion fundraising in March.

In response to employee worries about Anthropic potentially beating OpenAI to public markets, Frier addressed the issue directly, stating that the possibility of Anthropic filing and listing as early as September would not be a major setback for OpenAI. Frier clarified that OpenAI's primary focus remains on its own trajectory. OpenAI has filed its IPO prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission but has not disclosed a specific debut date.

Anthropic, on the other hand, has also filed its prospectus and held early meetings with potential investors. OpenAI's financial performance is under scrutiny as the company aims to justify its $852 billion valuation before going public. Frier presented slides showing a 35% quarter-to-date revenue run rate increase, a 50% quarter-to-date enterprise revenue run rate increase, and the reach of 20 million weekly active users for AI coding and work-product tools.

In addition, OpenAI reported $6.7 billion in revenue for the second quarter, an 18% increase from the first quarter, with an annualized revenue run rate surpassing $40 billion. Anthropic disclosed its own financial numbers, revealing an annualized revenue run rate of $65 billion by the end of July, up sevenfold from the previous year, and a preliminary second-quarter revenue of $11.5 billion.