OpenAI’s $852 billion valuation is drawing sharp criticism from a subset of its own investors, who argue that the company’s swift pivot toward enterprise services and repeated product‑roadmap revisions could leave it vulnerable as it eyes a potential initial public offering as early as the fourth quarter of 2026.

In the past six months, the San Francisco‑based AI firm has altered its roadmap twice—first to counter competitive pressure from Google, then in response to moves by Anthropic. The latest shift saw OpenAI shelve several initiatives, including the much‑talked‑about Sora video‑generation tool and an experimental adult‑chatbot. Investors say the turbulence signals a lack of focus that could erode its market lead.

"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," one early backer told the Financial Times. Jai Das, president of Sapphire Ventures, likened OpenAI to "the Netscape of AI," warning that a single‑product focus might invite displacement by rivals like Google.

OpenAI’s leadership pushed back. Chief financial officer Sarah Friar highlighted a $122 billion private round completed last month—the largest ever in Silicon Valley—backed by SoftBank, Amazon, Nvidia, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Thrive Capital and more than 25 other investors. "The suggestion that investors are not supportive of our strategy defies the facts," Friar said, noting the round was oversubscribed and closed in record time.

Enterprise sales now account for roughly 40 percent of OpenAI’s total revenue, and the company expects that share to match its consumer business by the end of 2026. The firm also aims to secure 30 gigawatts of computing capacity by 2030, having already locked in 8 gigawatts—a target Anthropic is not expected to meet until 2027.

Anthropic dispute over run‑rate accounting

Anthropic’s annualised run‑rate jumped from about $9 billion at the close of 2025 to $30 billion by March 2026, driven largely by demand for its coding tools. OpenAI reported $25 billion in annualised revenue for February. In a staff memo, OpenAI’s newly appointed chief revenue officer, Denise Dresser, accused Anthropic of inflating its run‑rate by roughly $8 billion. The disagreement stems from differing accounting methods: Anthropic records partner‑generated revenue on a gross basis, while OpenAI reports its Microsoft‑derived revenue net of the partner’s share.

Both approaches comply with U.S. GAAP, but if Dresser’s analysis holds, Anthropic’s comparable run‑rate would sit closer to $22 billion. Anthropic defended its practice, saying it “recognises gross revenue on sales through partners because it is the principal in the transaction.” The debate underscores how accounting choices can shape perceptions of competitive standing in the AI sector.

OpenAI’s internal memo also outlined its Q2 priorities: launch a new model codenamed “Spud” aimed at enterprise layers, expand the Frontier agent platform, deepen the recently announced partnership with Amazon, and roll out a deployment engine dubbed DeployCo. Executives argue these moves position the company to capture a broader slice of the AI market, despite concerns that a narrow, developer‑centric focus could become a liability as artificial‑intelligence applications move beyond engineering teams.

The controversy illustrates the high stakes of AI‑driven growth. As AI news platforms and automated news tools proliferate, investors are watching closely to see whether OpenAI can balance rapid innovation with the strategic stability needed for a successful public offering.

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