OpenAI's valuation, which stands at an impressive $852 billion, is now under scrutiny from its investors as the company shifts its focus towards the enterprise market. This pivot comes amidst a backdrop of strategic turbulence and a potential initial public offering (IPO) expected as early as the fourth quarter of 2026.
Some investors have voiced concerns regarding OpenAI's changing product roadmap. In just six months, the company has revised its plans twice—first in response to fierce competition from Google and then from rival Anthropic. Moreover, OpenAI has recently abandoned several initiatives, including its Sora video generation project and an adult-themed chatbot.
According to the Financial Times, some investors fear that these rapid changes could leave OpenAI vulnerable to both Anthropic and a resurgent Google. One early backer expressed frustration, stating, “You have ChatGPT, a 1 billion-user business growing 50-100 percent a year, what are you doing talking about enterprise and code? It’s a deeply unfocused company.”
Jai Das, president of Sapphire Ventures, who does not invest in either OpenAI or Anthropic, went even further, comparing OpenAI to the once-dominant Netscape browser, which was ultimately overtaken by Microsoft and absorbed by AOL.
In light of these concerns, one investor noted that for them to support OpenAI’s latest funding round, they would need to project an IPO valuation of $1.2 trillion or more.
OpenAI's leadership has responded firmly to the scrutiny. Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar highlighted the company’s recent successful fundraising effort, which raised $122 billion—marked as the largest private funding round in Silicon Valley's history. This round was backed by major investors including SoftBank, Amazon, Nvidia, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, and Thrive Capital, among others. Friar asserted, “The suggestion that investors are not supportive of our strategy defies the facts. Our raise, the largest in history, was oversubscribed, completed in record time and backed by a broad set of global investors.”
Furthermore, Friar revealed that enterprise now accounts for 40 percent of OpenAI’s total revenue and is projected to match its consumer business by the end of 2026. OpenAI is also aiming for a significant increase in computing capacity, targeting 30 gigawatts by 2030, and has already secured 8 gigawatts, claiming that Anthropic will not reach this level until late 2027.
At the center of the competitive anxiety is Anthropic's revenue growth. The company has reported a surge in its annualized revenue run rate from approximately $9 billion at the end of 2025 to $30 billion by the end of March 2026, largely driven by demand for its coding tools.
In comparison, OpenAI reported hitting a $25 billion annualized revenue milestone in February. This apparent revenue gap has led to a fierce reaction from OpenAI’s new Chief Revenue Officer, Denise Dresser, who accused Anthropic of inflating its revenue run rate by about $8 billion. Dresser's assertion is based on differing accounting methods: Anthropic reports the full revenue value generated through its cloud partners grossly, while OpenAI deducts its partner's share before recognizing revenue.
Both practices are compliant with US GAAP standards, but if Dresser's claims hold, it would suggest that Anthropic's revenue run rate is closer to $22 billion rather than the claimed $30 billion.
Anthropic has contested this characterization. A source close to the company defended its accounting practice by stating that it recognizes gross revenue on partner sales because it acts as the principal in the transaction, a standard justification under accounting rules.
In her internal memo, Dresser acknowledged that Anthropic's focus on coding provided them an early advantage in the enterprise sector. However, she cautioned that a narrow focus could become a liability as AI technology expands beyond engineering teams. She stated, “You do not want to be a single-product company in a platform war.”
The memo also outlined OpenAI's priorities for the second quarter, which include winning the enterprise model layer with a new model codenamed 'Spud', establishing its Frontier agent platform, expanding through a partnership with Amazon, and developing a deployment engine called DeployCo.