OpenAI forecasts cash burn near $280 billion by 2030, FT reports

Sept 18 — OpenAI expects to burn through $278 billion in cash between 2026 ​and 2030 as it ramps up spending on computing power and infrastructure, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing ‌a company presentation seen by the newspaper.

The projection highlights OpenAI's funding needs as ⁠it seeks fresh investment, ​with the FT reporting earlier ⁠this week that the ChatGPT maker had held talks with ‌investors that could ‌value it at about $1.2 trillion ahead of a potential ⁠listing.

• OpenAI filed confidentially for an ⁠IPO in June, but CEO Sam Altman said on Saturday the company would not go public in 2026 because of concerns about AI safety.

• OpenAI forecasts negative free cash flow of $278 billion over the five-year period from 2026 ‌to 2030 while investing aggressively to ​secure computing capacity needed to train and run its AI models, FT said.

• The AI firm expects revenue to increase tenfold over the same period, rising from $36 billion this year to $350 billion in 2030, the FT said, adding that OpenAI anticipates generating a cumulative $840 billion in revenue through the ​end of the decade.

• OpenAI forecasts spending about $856 billion on ‌computing power and ‌infrastructure by ⁠the end of 2030, its largest expense category, the report said. The FT said the company raised $122 billion in March at an $852 billion valuation but is on track to exhaust that ‌cash by 2028.

• OpenAI ​could not immediately be reached ‌for comment outside regular ⁠business hours.

(Reporting ​by Mrinmay Dey in Mexico City; Editing by Chris Reese and ​Tasim Zahid)

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