OpenAI expects to burn $280bn by 2030

A recent OpenAI presentation seen by the FT projects ~$278bn of negative free cash flow from 2026–2030 — nearly $280bn of cash burn — while revenues are forecast to rise from ~$36bn this year to ~$350bn in 2030 (~$840bn cumulative). Compute/infra spend alone is pegged at ~$856bn by end-2030. The $122bn raised in March is on track to be exhausted by 2028 on this path. OpenAI is in talks for a major new round; backers have discussed a ~$1.2tn valuation while the company pushes higher. The burn underscores price pressure versus Anthropic and cheaper Chinese open-weight models, even as July model releases lifted annualised revenue ~20%. OpenAI deferred its autumn IPO (confidential filing in June), citing AI-risk politics; some investors also worry public markets would punish a heavily lossmaking float. Nvidia, Oracle and SoftBank data-centre plans depend heavily on OpenAI contracts. OpenAI declined to comment. A prior May projection had shown even deeper ~$305bn negative FCF.