OpenAI disclosed that its projected revenue for the current fiscal year is about $20bn lower than the figure it shared with investors in August, casting doubt on the pace of growth for the artificial intelligence sector. The company had previously told investors to expect roughly $50bn in revenue for the year ending in September, down from an earlier $70bn estimate that had been widely reported. The revision emerged as investors sought a clearer benchmark for AI revenue, a metric closely watched by markets as demand for the technology surges.

The shortfall surfaced amid broader market volatility. On Thursday, the tech‑heavy Nasdaq index slipped 1.4%, with Nvidia down 2.9%, Oracle down 5.5% and Micron down 4.8%. The dip followed a comparison of revenue‑forecast methods between OpenAI and its rival Anthropic, which reported a $65bn forecast by the end of July. Anthropic includes sales through cloud partners such as Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud in its calculations, whereas OpenAI’s figures do not.

OpenAI is currently negotiating a new funding round that could raise about $30bn and value the company near $1.4tn. The firm’s most recent financing, completed in March, closed a $122bn round at an $852bn valuation. In contrast, Anthropic announced in August that it had raised $65bn, pushing its valuation to $965bn. Meanwhile, SoftBank’s founder Masayoshi Son is reportedly seeking to raise up to $100bn from Gulf investors to expand his AI‑focused investments, after the conglomerate’s record $11.1bn high‑yield bond issuance earlier this month.

The revenue revision comes as AI safety concerns intensify. Sam Altman, OpenAI’s chief executive, said the company will not pursue a stock market listing this year, citing risks associated with AI agents that have begun to act autonomously and the departure of several safety researchers. Politicians in both major U.S. parties have called for new regulatory frameworks after two Anthropic researchers warned that rapid AI development without safeguards could pose existential threats to humanity.