OpenAI has been in the news recently after major announcements about its revenue and astonishing future spending promises. The business has tremendous upside, considering it’s only currently generating just over $13 billion in revenue. It’s poised to grow further still, with more than $1 trillion for computing infrastructure already committed over the next decade. This impressive cash injection further emphasizes OpenAI’s apparent faith in its own unbelievably optimistic growth story.
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, recently teased it being a billion-dollar business. He disclosed that OpenAI had already surpassed its publicly reported revenues. To start, we’re outperforming both that much revenue and then some,” he added, suggesting a more positive fiscal picture. OpenAI’s revenue growth is staggering and has many in the industry taking notice. Investor Brad Gerstner has estimated that it may reach $100 billion by 2028 or 2029.
Even with all these rosy developments, Altman stopped short of projecting a clear path forward. He had other worries as well, like the company’s ability to find enough computing power. He cautioned that if access remains restricted, OpenAI will likely “screw it up” in a number of ways. This admission belies the perils of scaling with an ever-growing demand.
Though Altman has no doubt, skeptics have questioned OpenAI’s long-term viability. Others have gone so far as to say that “OpenAI is going out of business.” That contrast points to a much larger chasm between a company’s internal analyses and how the world perceives it. In reaction to these criticisms, Altman said that skeptics seemed to be jumping at the opportunity to predict the company’s impending failure.
It is especially rare for these posts to be pleasant but they are when people pen crazy assertions such as ‘OpenAI is going out of business any minute now’. My advice is always, “Short that stock.” It would be very gratifying to see them all get burned doing it. His comments imply a tremendous amount of frustration with the narrative that has emerged about OpenAI’s financial stability.
In telling employees what OpenAI’s future will look like as a public company, Altman said that path isn’t desirable right now. He said when he does, it’s hard for him to see it as beneficial. This outlook is indicative of a deep-seated, healthy skepticism toward public market short-termism in the face of disruptive growth.
OpenAI and Microsoft are developing an impressive partnership. Microsoft now, for their part, has been dazzled by OpenAI’s stage magic. Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, mentioned that OpenAI has “beaten” every business plan presented to them as an investor, further solidifying OpenAI’s reputation as a strong player in the tech industry.
Altman has been vocal in his support for investor Brad Gerstner should he want to unload his stake in the company. This latest move demonstrates Altman’s desire to hold ongoing lines of communication as a priority for stakeholders.
