It’s a whirlwind, isn’t it? The world of AI, I mean. Seems like just yesterday, we were all kicking around ideas, and now… well, now things are different. Marc Manara, OpenAI’s head of startups, was at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, and he painted a picture of just how quickly the ground is shifting.
The pace is the most striking thing. Manara mentioned that AI-native companies are already hitting $200 million in annual recurring revenue. That’s not just some distant goal; it’s happening right now. And the product cycles? They’ve shrunk to a matter of days, not weeks. It’s a sprint, constantly.
Meanwhile, Russell Brandom, as part of the TechCrunch Equity podcast, sat down with Manara to get a better sense of what’s going on. They talked about what startups actually need, what they’re looking for from OpenAI, and how the company is helping them navigate this crazy new landscape.
“The reality has advanced far beyond ideas and experiments,” Manara explained. That statement really stuck with me. It’s a good way to put it. The whole field has moved from theoretical to practical, almost overnight.
Earlier today, I was reading through some of the notes from the session. The speed of iteration, the way things are changing, it’s… a bit overwhelming, to be honest. It’s like trying to keep up with a river that’s constantly changing course.
Officials from OpenAI, as per reports, are focusing on providing the tools and support that startups need to keep up. It’s about more than just the technology; it’s about helping these companies survive and thrive in a world that’s being redefined in real-time. This is, in a way, a race.
And it seems like OpenAI is right in the thick of it, helping these startups, providing them with the resources they need to go from idea to, well, that $200 million revenue mark. Still, the pressure must be immense.







