Tae Kim relays CNBC: OpenAI’s $70B figure included partner revenue sharing; the $50B figure strips it out
tae kim @firstadopterX
Why it matters
Explains the gap between the $70B and $50B OpenAI revenue figures, citing a CNBC on-air source (~136k views on Oct 10, fxtwitter).
Summary
Tae Kim (author of the Key Context newsletter on AI and chips) reported that CNBC said on air, citing a source familiar, that the $70B ARR figure includes “revenue sharing from their big partners” (he suggests Amazon and Microsoft) and that the $50B figure strips those partnership deals out. Second-hand (a post relaying a TV report); not independently verified. Read via api.fxtwitter.com on 2026-10-10: about 136k views, 550 likes.
Archived text
Re: FT OpenAI headline chaos.
CNBC just reported on air, according to a source familar: $70 billion ARR includes “revenue sharing from their big partners” (think AMZN, MSFT). “The way that they [OpenAI] have been reporting revenue has included some of these partnership deals”
The $50 billion ARR figure strips out those partnership deals.