OpenAI has revealed that enterprise AI now constitutes over 40% of its total revenue, a figure driven by the rapid adoption of what it calls "agentic workflows." According to Chief Revenue Officer Denise Dresser, this shift represents an unprecedented level of conviction spreading across industries. The company reported hitting $25 billion in annualized revenue in February, up from $20 billion at the end of 2025.
Dresser explained that leading companies have moved beyond using AI for simple tasks like writing emails. They are now deploying "teams of agents"—coordinated AI systems that hold context across sessions and take action within business tools autonomously. OpenAI's enterprise-focused products are seeing massive adoption: its Codex AI coding agent has surpassed 3 million users, and paying business users reached 9 million in February, up from 5 million in August. Weekly active users across all OpenAI products hit 910 million.
Simultaneously, AI company Perplexity reported a staggering 50% monthly revenue jump, reaching $450 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) in March. This surge followed the February 25 launch of its autonomous agent platform, "Computer," and a shift to a usage-based pricing model. Perplexity's ARR skyrocketed from $305 million to $450 million in approximately 30 days.
Perplexity's "Computer" platform acts as an orchestration layer, coordinating up to 19 specialized AI models from providers like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google to execute complex, multi-step workflows. CEO Aravind Srinivas described the system as one where "one reasons, another codes, another writes." The company also eliminated advertising entirely in February, focusing revenue entirely on subscriptions and usage fees.
The momentum behind enterprise AI adoption is framing the next phase of product development for major players. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has positioned multi-agent systems at the center of the company's strategy, and OpenAI is preparing for an IPO with retail investors set to receive a share allocation. The company projects reaching $85 billion in revenue by 2030, a target predicated on agents becoming the default business interface for AI.
This rapid growth signals a broader industry thesis: users are willing to pay significantly more for AI that executes tasks rather than merely providing answers. Gartner projects that 40% of enterprise applications will include task-specific agents by the end of 2026. However, challenges remain, including integration complexity and competitive pressure as other firms deploy similar orchestration layers.
