OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says revenue is "well more" than $13 billion and invites critics to sell

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman brushed off criticism of the company's finances, making it clear that revenue is "well more" than $13 billion and growing fast.

In a recent exchange with investor and podcaster Brad Gerstner, Altman faced questions about how OpenAI could take on $1.4 trillion in commitments with its current revenue. Altman replied that skeptics were free to sell their shares—he'd have no trouble finding buyers. He even dared critics to bet against OpenAI, though that's just hypothetical for now since an IPO is still a distant prospect.

"There are not many times that I want to be a public company, but one of the rare times it's appealing is when those people are writing these ridiculous OpenAI is about to go out of business. I would love to tell them they could just short the stock, and I would love to see them get burned on that."

Sam Altman

Growth and future bets

OpenAI's rapid growth so far has been driven by demand for its AI products and services, but hitting future goals would require a rate of expansion never before seen in business. Altman said the company is eyeing new revenue streams from AI cloud infrastructure, proprietary devices, and automating scientific research. The biggest bottleneck, he said, is computing power.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, both a partner and investor, called OpenAI's execution "unbelievable, quite frankly." "There has not been a single business plan that I've seen from OpenAI that they've put in and not beaten it," Nadella said.

Altman's blunt response sparked criticism online, since Gerstner's question about revenue and spending was entirely fair. Gerstner later put things in perspective: "People reading too much into Sam being feisty. I love that about him & in our founders. We laughed about it after."

Summing up Altman's outlook on his show, Gerstner expects OpenAI's revenue to exceed $13 billion in 2025, with $100 billion possible even sooner. If current momentum holds, $200 billion by 2030 could be within reach, with spending aligned to these ambitious targets. Even if growth slows, Gerstner believes OpenAI could simply stretch out its investment plans and still rank among the fastest-growing companies ever.