OpenAI reportedly projects $278B cash burn through 2030, with $856B compute spend
mark_k · x · 2026-09-19
OpenAI reportedly expects to burn an estimated $278 billion in cash between 2026 and 2030.
The company projects about $840 billion in total revenue over that period, but compute spending alone is forecast at $856 billion — exceeding all revenue.
At this scale, access to capital becomes nearly as important as model quality: OpenAI will need to keep raising unprecedented sums just to maintain its pace.
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