OpenAI CFO flags monetization lag as company prepares for mega IPO

OpenAI’s financial chief Sarah Friar flagged concerns that the company’s revenue may not keep up with escalating costs for computing and data infrastructure.

The warning, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, raises questions about the pace of expansion and its readiness for a potential public listing.

OpenAI recently fell short of its goal of reaching one billion weekly active users and missed its annual revenue target. Monthly revenue targets were also missed, and subscriber churn came in higher than expected.

Board members have begun scrutinizing large data center deals and questioned ongoing expansion plans as growth slows, while competition from Anthropic and Google’s Gemini has eroded OpenAI’s share in parts of the coding market.

In a separate development, OpenAI has moved to restructure its relationship with Microsoft, its largest strategic backer and holder of roughly a quarter of its for-profit entity.

Under newly renegotiated terms, Microsoft loses exclusive access to OpenAI’s models and intellectual property, instead receiving a non-exclusive licence through 2032. Microsoft retains its role as a primary cloud partner via Azure.

The numbers

OpenAI’s revenue surged from roughly $2 billion in 2023 to about $6 billion in 2024, with models projecting it could reach around $25 billion by early 2026.

At the same time, the company’s cash burn rate is estimated to hit about $17 billion in 2026 alone, implying that roughly 85% of every dollar it brings in that year could be spent back on operations and infrastructure.

Forward‑looking analyses also suggest that cumulative losses through 2029 could exceed $115 billion.

Separately, OpenAI has indicated plans to spend roughly $600 billion on computing capacity through 2030, much of it via long‑term, “take‑or‑pay” contracts that require payment even if the capacity is not fully used.

In early 2026, OpenAI closed a $122 billion funding round, giving it a post‑money valuation of $852 billion.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Vivian Nguyen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.