OpenAI is expected to spend a lot of cash over the next several years to build AI infrastructure and sustain its position in an increasingly competitive AI market, according to a Financial Times report. It forecast negative free cash flow of about $278 billion in 2026-2030.
The figures were said to have been included in a private company presentation in July in connection with a computing deal. A person familiar with the deal told the Financial Times about the projections but declined to discuss the financial figures because they were not public. OpenAI also declined to comment on the reported projections.
The anticipated cash burn illustrates the massive financial investment required to build and use increasingly powerful AI models. OpenAI is expecting to see its revenue grow substantially over the same period, but it will also be spending a lot on computing capacity, data centres and other infrastructure in order to cope with its rapid growth in AI.
OpenAI is expected to see revenue rise from $36 billion in 2026 to over $350 billion by 2030, according to the presentation. But all that money is being spent on computing and related infrastructure and will have a substantial negative free cash flow.
The numbers illustrate the cost-heavy nature of the present AI race. Companies developing frontier AI models require enormous computing power to train and serve models to users. With the demand for generative AI products growing, companies also need to invest in data centre space and high-end chips to cope with the increasing workload.
OpenAI's financial needs are also closely related to its future growth. The company is aggressively expanding its AI products and services in consumer and enterprise markets while developing more advanced models. And that kind of scale will require a lot of investment before the revenues generated can cover the infrastructure and operating costs.
The projected cash-flow projections come at the same time OpenAI is also looking to raise capital through more funding. Bloomberg reported earlier this week that OpenAI has been in talks with investors about a funding round that would value OpenAI at over $1.2 trillion. The Financial Times had also reported on the funding discussions.
A new funding round could also give OpenAI more financial flexibility to invest in computing infrastructure and AI development. If the company wants to raise more funds, it might even delay a public offering in the future if its management believes more private funding would be better for its long-term goal.
OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman previously told Fortune that the company’s long-anticipated IPO remains in its plans but would not take place in 2026. Bloomberg also noted that additional fundraising might allow OpenAI to push the IPO further into the future by one or two quarters.
And another possible reason for seeking additional capital could be acquisitions. Bloomberg reported that OpenAI could raise capital to support mergers and acquisitions to enhance its technology, talent and broader business operations as well.
The reported $278 billion negative free cash flow projection so far also indicates the scale of investment OpenAI believes would be needed to support its ambitions through 2030. At the same time, the company’s projected revenue growth from $36 billion to $350 billion reflects the ambitious expectations around the commercial potential of AI.
The gulf between revenue growth and spending also reflects a larger challenge for the AI industry, turning the rapidly increasing demand for AI services into sustainable profitability while also continuing to finance expensive computing infrastructure. The future of OpenAI could be a tricky one: raising capital, increasing revenue, investing in technology and determining the right timing for a public listing.
With AI competition increasingly intense, OpenAI’s financial projections show that the company expects its infrastructure requirements to remain significant well beyond the current wave of AI adoption. How much revenue growth would lead to a lower expenditure gap in OpenAI’s revenue growth as the company enters 2030 and that of the wider technology industry remains an open question for investors.
