OpenAI generated $5.7 billion in revenue during the first quarter, beating Anthropic’s $4.8 billion by about $1 billion as the two leading AI labs continue to race toward possible public listings, according to The Information.

The revenue lead keeps OpenAI ahead commercially, but the underlying numbers show a more complicated picture.

OpenAI’s user growth stalled at roughly 905 million average weekly active users, while paying subscribers rose to 55 million from 47 million at year end, according to the report. For every $1 OpenAI generated in revenue, it lost $1.22, even excluding major expenses such as stock based compensation.

Anthropic is still behind OpenAI on first quarter revenue, but its growth trajectory is accelerating. The company expects second quarter revenue to reach at least $10.9 billion, more than double its $4.8 billion in first quarter sales, and is approaching its first quarterly operating profit with an expected $559 million gain, according to Reuters.

That momentum is feeding the IPO narrative around both companies. OpenAI is reportedly preparing for a potential listing that could value the company at up to $1 trillion, with a possible filing as soon as the second half of 2026. Anthropic is also weighing a new funding round at a valuation above $900 billion, a level that could put it ahead of OpenAI’s reported $852 billion valuation from March.

The race is also becoming a compute arms race. Anthropic agreed to pay SpaceX $1.25 billion per month through May 2029 for access to AI compute capacity tied to SpaceX’s Colossus and Colossus II data centers. Either side can terminate the agreement with 90 days’ notice, and fees will be reduced during the initial capacity ramp up.

The SpaceX deal gives Anthropic access to scarce infrastructure as demand for Claude grows across enterprise and developer markets. It also gives SpaceX a major AI infrastructure customer ahead of its own IPO push, with the $15 billion annual agreement potentially nearly doubling SpaceX’s 2025 revenue of $18.7 billion.