Evaluated side-by-side using the AI Business Quality framework by Pitchbook, OpenAI is priced at $188 billion per point of business quality. That represents a 60% premium over Anthropic, which sits at $118 billion per point.
This wide spread raises a pressing question for pre-IPO invesors: is OpenAI truly worth that premium, or is it a byproduct of generous private market pricing?
Whether OpenAI can actually scale to a $1 trillion valuation over the next year or two depends entirely on the revenue multiple investors choose to apply.
At its own current multiple of 34x, OpenAI needs to generate roughly $29 billion in annual revenue to reach the trillion-dollar mark, which is a highly feasible target. However, if the market applies Anthropic’s multiple of 20.5x, that revenue target leaps to $49 billion, nearly doubling what OpenAI needs to produce.
Delaying its IPO to 2028 could help close this gap but carries a steep price as OpenAI’s own internal projections show a cumulative cash burn of approximately $115 billion through 2029, with self-sustainability not expected until 2030.
Staying private means OpenAI must rely on venture and private equity markets to fund this massive capital requirement, at valuations the company itself is beginning to question.
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This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial or investment advice. Investing involves risk.