A new financial analysis first highlighted by the Financial Times reveals a surprising truth about OpenAI’s rapid growth: while the company is scaling at unprecedented speed, the financial burden behind its expansion is falling primarily on its partners, not on OpenAI itself. Nearly $100 billion in debt has been accumulated by companies building the infrastructure required to power OpenAI’s advanced AI systems, despite OpenAI holding almost no direct debt of its own.
The Origin of the $100 Billion Debt
Training and running increasingly powerful AI models requires massive amounts of computing power, specialized chips, and large-scale data centers. To meet this demand, companies partnering with OpenAI including Oracle, SoftBank, CoreWeave, and infrastructure financing groups have been taking on enormous loans.
Key borrowing highlights include:
- SoftBank, Oracle, and CoreWeave borrowing over $30 billion for investment and data center development.
- Investment groups like Blue Owl Capital and Crusoe taking on around $28 billion, supported by contracts tied to OpenAI workloads.
- An additional $38 billion in financing currently being negotiated to expand future computing sites.
Leveraging Other Balance Sheets
Despite being loss-making, OpenAI has avoided carrying this debt. According to internal commentary, the company’s strategy has been summarized as:
“How does OpenAI leverage other people’s balance sheets?”
Instead of borrowing heavily itself, OpenAI signs massive procurement commitments estimated at $1.4 trillion over eight years guaranteeing future demand for computing resources. Yet, OpenAI’s projected annual revenue for the year is just $20 billion, raising concerns about future sustainability.
So far, the company has secured a $4 billion credit facility but has not drawn from it.
Who Holds the Risk?
Most debt is tied to financing structures like Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) and non-recourse loans, meaning lenders not OpenAI carry the risk if revenue fails to meet expectations.
Major exposure includes:
- Oracle, which may need to borrow up to $100 billion over the next four years.
- CoreWeave, which has already borrowed over $10 billion.
- SoftBank, aggressively funding AI-related investments tied to OpenAI’s ecosystem.
While OpenAI continues to accelerate the AI race, analysts warn that the current financing model resembles circular, debt-driven growth. With nearly $100 billion already tied to OpenAI-linked infrastructure, investors are questioning whether the long-term returns will justify the enormous financial risks.
