A leaked internal document details a massive capital expenditure plan for OpenAI to expand its data center capacity. The company projects negative free cash flow of $278 billion from 2026 through 2030, according to a presentation cited by the Financial Times, driven by $856 billion in compute and infrastructure costs. This spending is projected to exhaust a $122 billion cash cushion raised in March by 2028, though annual revenue is forecasted to grow from $36 billion this year to $350 billion in 2030.
The AI developer is currently in discussions for a new funding round with investors suggesting a $1.2 trillion valuation, though OpenAI is seeking a higher figure. This updated cash burn estimate represents an improvement from the $305 billion projected in May. While new model launches helped lift annualized revenue to $40 billion in July, the company has delayed a planned fall IPO after filing confidentially in June.
Key sources
- SOURCE@ft“OpenAI expects to burn $280bn by 2030”x.com
- SUPPORT@tradfi“OPENAI EXPECTS MARCH $122B CASH CUSHION TO RUN OUT IN 2028”x.com
- SUPPORT@theinformation“OpenAI’s annualized revenue topped $40 billion in July”x.com
- SUPPORT@wallstengine“investors approaching it around a $1.2T valuation while OpenAI is seeking a higher figure”x.com
- SUPPORT@business“negative free cash flow will reach $278 billion from 2026 to the end of 2030, according to the Financial Times”x.com
- SUPPORT@financialjuice“OpenAI projects $840 billion in revenue through 2030 - FT”x.com
- SUPPORT@stocksavvyshay“OpenAI expects to burn $278B of FCF from 2026 through 2030 while spending $856B on compute and infrastructure”x.com
- SOURCEmarketbrief.now