OpenAI co-founder and president Greg Brockman said the company could be ready for an initial public offering in 2027, noting that its enterprise revenue had been growing while speaking at a Wall Street Journal tech conference on Wednesday.
Asked whether OpenAI would be IPO-ready next year, Brockman replied, “I think so. Yes.”
"We've been very clear this year that we want to go public when we feel is the right time for us, and I feel extremely good about the business," he said. "I feel like we've made so much progress this year, and I've honestly never felt more confident in what we're doing."
Brockman detailed how the company's trajectory as an enterprise changed over 2026, describing the first two quarters as “pretty rough.” He acknowledged that OpenAI “wasn't even in the conversation” for agentic coding, an area where rival Anthropic's Claude Code has gained market share. “We had Codex, but no one was talking about it,” Brockman said, adding, “and I think that we just kept our heads down and executed.”
By the third quarter, activity picked up. OpenAI saw 70% quarterly growth in its annualized revenue, which Brockman attributed to the enterprise side of the business doubling. He explained that the growth was the culmination of earlier investments. The majority of OpenAI's revenue now comes from its enterprise business, which previously accounted for around 30% of total revenue.
"And it's not that consumer [revenue has shrunk] … It's been growing, but it's the enterprise segment has really taken off," Brockman said, pointing to a partnership with JPMorgan Chase as an example.
Brockman also reflected on the lessons learned from selling into the enterprise market. He said the company now understands it must help businesses identify milestones achievable with AI, build trust, and demonstrate reliability as a long-term partner. "A year ago, we weren't even really in the enterprise game, right? We were really perceived as a consumer company, and a lot of the companies we'd start talking to would say, 'Is OpenAI really committed to the enterprise?'" Brockman recalled. "But it's so different today."
Analysis
Why This Matters
- OpenAI's potential IPO would mark a major milestone for the AI industry, offering public investors exposure to one of the most prominent AI companies.
- The shift from consumer to enterprise revenue shows OpenAI is adapting to market demands, competing directly with established enterprise AI players like Anthropic.
- The company's growth trajectory and IPO timeline will be closely watched as a bellwether for the commercial viability of generative AI.
Background
OpenAI is the developer of ChatGPT and a leading force in generative AI. Founded as a nonprofit research lab, it transitioned to a capped-profit structure to attract investment. The company has faced intense competition from rivals such as Anthropic and Google in both consumer and enterprise AI markets. Brockman's comments come as OpenAI seeks to diversify revenue streams beyond consumer subscriptions.
What to Watch
- Whether OpenAI maintains its enterprise revenue growth through 2026 and into 2027, as it builds toward a potential IPO.
- How OpenAI competes with Anthropic in agentic coding and other enterprise AI tools.
- Any regulatory or market conditions that could affect the timing of OpenAI's public listing.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
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- SupportedBrockman said OpenAI could be ready for an IPO in 2027 while speaking at a Wall Street Journal tech conference on Wednesday.AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch: “Speaking at a Wall Street Journal tech conference on Wednesday, the executive touted how the company had been gaining ground in the enterprise market”
- SupportedBrockman pointed to enterprise revenue growth.AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch: “OpenAI co-founder and president Greg Brockman said the company would be ready for an IPO in 2027, noting that its enterprise revenue has been growing.”
- SupportedBrockman answered the IPO question, “I think so. Yes,” and said he felt extremely good about the business and more confident in what OpenAI was doing.AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch: ““I think so. Yes.” “We’ve been very clear this year that we want to go public when we feel is the right time for us, and I feel extremely good about the business. I feel like we’ve made so much progress this year, and I’ve honestly never felt more confident in what we’re doing,” Brockman said.”
- SupportedBrockman described OpenAI’s first two quarters of 2026 as “pretty rough.”AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch: “He detailed how OpenAI’s trajectory as an enterprise had changed over the course of 2026, noting that the first and second quarters were “pretty rough.””
- SupportedBrockman said OpenAI “wasn't even in the conversation” for agentic coding, where Anthropic’s Claude Code had gained market share.AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch: “He also admitted that OpenAI “wasn’t even in the conversation” when it came to agentic coding — an area where Anthropic’s Claude Code has gained market share.”
- SupportedBrockman said, “We had Codex, but no one was talking about it,” and that OpenAI kept its head down and executed.AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch: ““We had Codex, but no one was talking about it,” Brockman continued, “and I think that we just kept our heads down and executed.””
- SupportedBy the third quarter, OpenAI saw 70% quarterly growth in annualized revenue, which Brockman attributed to the enterprise business doubling.AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch: “By the third quarter, activity picked up, as OpenAI saw 70% quarterly growth in its annualized revenue — something Brockman attributed to the enterprise side of the business doubling.”
- SupportedThe majority of OpenAI’s revenue came from enterprise, which had previously accounted for around 30% of total revenue.AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch: “Now the majority of OpenAI’s revenue is coming from the enterprise business, which previously accounted for only around 30% of its total revenue.”
- SupportedBrockman said consumer revenue had been growing while the enterprise segment took off.AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch: ““And it’s not that consumer [revenue has shrunk] … It’s been growing, but it’s the enterprise segment has really taken off,” he said”
- SupportedBrockman pointed to a partnership with JPMorgan Chase as an example of the kind of client OpenAI was winning deals with.AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch: “pointing to a recent partnership with JPMorgan Chase as one example of the type of client it’s now winning deals with.”
- SupportedBrockman said OpenAI had learned to help businesses identify achievable AI milestones, build trust and demonstrate reliability as a long-term partner.AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch: “He said the company had come to understand that its job was to help businesses identify the most important milestones they could achieve with its AI technology, build trust with clients, and demonstrate that it was a reliable partner for the long haul.”
- SupportedBrockman recalled that a year earlier OpenAI was perceived as a consumer company and that businesses questioned its commitment to enterprise, adding, “But it’s so different today.”AI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch: ““A year ago, we weren’t even really in the enterprise game, right? We were really perceived as a consumer company, and a lot of the companies we’d start talking to would say, ‘Is OpenAI really committed to the enterprise?’” Brockman said. “But it’s so different today.””
