OpenAI cuts compute spending target to $600bn by 2030

OpenAI has told investors it expects total compute spending to reach about $600 billion by 2030, sharply below the $1.4 trillion infrastructure commitment outlined last year, as the company refines its growth plans ahead of a potential stock market listing.

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that the revised target forms part of financial projections presented to backers as the ChatGPT developer prepares for a fundraising round that could exceed $100 billion and value the company at up to $830 billion. The person said OpenAI generated $13 billion in revenue in 2025, above a $10 billion projection, while spending $8 billion against a $9 billion target.

CNBC, citing people familiar with the discussions, reported that OpenAI expects total revenue to surpass $280 billion by 2030, split roughly evenly between consumer and enterprise businesses. The same sources said the updated spending plan was designed to align more closely with anticipated revenue growth after concerns that earlier expansion ambitions were out of step with likely returns.

The company is close to finalising a funding round in which about 90 per cent of capital would come from strategic investors, according to CNBC. The broadcaster said Nvidia is in talks to invest up to $30 billion as part of the raise, potentially implying a pre-money valuation of about $730 billion, with other participants including SoftBank and Amazon.

Last year Sam Altman, OpenAI’s chief executive, said the group was committed to spending $1.4 trillion to build 30 gigawatts of computing capacity, enough to power roughly 25 million US homes. The new projections indicate a more defined timetable for infrastructure deployment through the end of the decade.

The Information reported that OpenAI told investors the cost of running its AI models, known as inference, rose fourfold in 2025, contributing to a decline in adjusted gross margin to 33 per cent from 40 per cent in 2024. The figures illustrate the capital intensity facing large AI developers as they scale both training and deployment of increasingly complex models.

OpenAI, founded in 2015 and backed by Microsoft, has not publicly commented on the revised spending forecast.



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