WSJ What’s News How Will OpenAI Fund Its Multibillion-Dollar Ambitions?
45 snips
Sep 12, 2025 
Eliot Brown, a Journal reporter specializing in finance, dives deep into OpenAI's ambitious multibillion-dollar plans, exploring their hefty spending on tech infrastructure and the looming question of funding sustainability. He highlights the stark contrast between OpenAI's rapid growth in user engagement and its current financial losses. Eliot also touches on the broader economic landscape, including the U.S. tariff revenue and the ongoing investigation in a high-profile shooting case, revealing how these issues intertwine with tech funding and trade policies.
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Spending Far Exceeds Current Revenue
- OpenAI has committed to massive spending across computing, data centers, hardware and chips.
- Their current revenue (~$13B pace) is far smaller than these commitments, creating a funding gap.
Large Multi-Billion-Dollar Commitments
- OpenAI's commitments include $60B/year Oracle compute, $18B with SoftBank for data centers, plus $10B in custom chips.
- These multi-decade deals create long-term payout obligations far beyond current cash flow.
The Big Bet On Future Revenue
- OpenAI is betting revenue will 'explode' to cover costs as current income lags commitments.
- That bet depends on unprecedented, sustained consumer and business monetization of AI.