2 September 2026
OpenAI's ad business reaches $1 billion annual revenue
First reported
CNBC ran this on , 2 days before the next source picked it up.
- OpenAI launched ads in ChatGPT in February and now generates $1 billion in annualized revenue from advertising, roughly 200 days into the product.
- The company says ads are clearly labeled and do not affect ChatGPT's responses, and advertisers cannot see users' private conversations.
- OpenAI plans to expand ads to more countries and add new ad formats and measurement tools as it prepares for a major public stock offering.
- Anthropic, a rival AI company, criticized the move in its first Super Bowl advertisement.
How it was covered
TLDR AITLDR editorial team
AI startup Cognition is set to raise around $1 billion, with the final amount potentially exceeding that due to outsized demand. The company now generates over $900 million in annualized revenue, bringing its valuation to approximately $47 billion.
Reported by CNBC