OpenAI's rapid growth trajectory is expected to continue through 2026. At Goldman Sachs' Communacopia conference on Tuesday, OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Fryer stated: "This year's revenue will grow by more than double, meaning an increase from $4 billion last year to approximately $13 billion." Fryer added: "Our current development pace is quite remarkable. Artificial intelligence (AI) has entered a completely new era." She declined to disclose a specific timeline for OpenAI's public offering.

This year has proven to be turbulent for OpenAI. The ChatGPT 5 release in early August received mixed reviews, with users complaining about interface responsiveness lacking human-like qualities. CEO Sam Altman acknowledged the company made mistakes during the rollout process. Several weeks after this incident, Altman reportedly stated that the artificial intelligence market was in a bubble.

Meanwhile, reports indicate that OpenAI is in discussions to sell $6 billion worth of shares held by current and former employees to investors. This transaction would value OpenAI at approximately $500 billion, up from the $300 billion valuation in March.

Investors are also closely scrutinizing the operations of OpenAI's partner and major investor Microsoft (MSFT.US). OpenAI hopes Microsoft will loosen its control as AI products experience accelerated growth. The partnership between the two companies is expected to continue until 2030, but the agreement could terminate early if OpenAI's board declares it has developed Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).

Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft's AI division, downplayed any potential tensions in the partnership during a June interview. He stated: "This partnership is in good shape. It's one of the best technology partnerships to date, and this relationship will continue for at least five years, possibly decades."

However, investors are beginning to question how long the AI high-growth cycle can be sustained. Fryer commented: "We are in the first phase. Many people compare the AI era to railroad construction because it's similarly a capital-intensive project. But I believe we're just getting started. We may have already laid track from New York to Baltimore, but we will eventually cover the entire United States, even the whole world."

"So anyone who thinks this cycle has reached its peak really hasn't seen what I'm seeing."