OpenAI Data Center Plans in Question After Revenue Miss

OpenAI has reportedly fallen short of its internal goals for new users and revenue.

That’s according to a report late Monday (April 27) from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), which says these misses have sparked concern among some executives about whether the artificial intelligence (AI) startup will be able to fund its data center plans.

Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar has told other leaders that she is concerned OpenAI might not be able to pay for future computing contracts if revenue doesn’t grow quickly enough, sources familiar with the matter told the WSJ.

The report added that OpenAI missed an internal goal of reaching one billion weekly active users for ChatGPT by the end of 2025. The company has yet to announce that achievement, which has some investors uneasy, the WSJ said. OpenAI is also dealing with a loss of subscribers, the sources said.

These people said members of the company’s board have been scrutinizing OpenAI’s data center deals in recent months, questioning CEO Sam Altman’s move to accrue even more computing power even as business slows.

According to the WSJ, this closer oversight is limiting Altman’s ambitions ahead of a possible stock market listing this year. Friar and other executives have begun trying to control spending and establish more business discipline, putting them at odds with Altman, sources said.

PYMNTS has contacted OpenAI for comment but has not yet gotten a reply.

The company issued a joint statement from Altman and Friar to the WSJ, in which the executives said they were “totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day.”

The idea that the two are divided or pulling back on landing more computing resources is “ridiculous,” the statement added.

Bloomberg reported Tuesday (April 28) that OpenAI described the WSJ report as “prime clickbait.”

OpenAI told Bloomberg, per the report, that the company’s consumer and enterprise businesses are “firing on all cylinders” and that “the mood internally is incredibly positive.”

The company also said that it still sees additional computing capacity as an important way to provide its customers with a better product experience, according to the Bloomberg report.

The WSJ report is the latest in a series of news accounts of friction behind the scenes at OpenAI. Earlier this month, The Information reported that Altman and Friar were at odds over the timing of the company’s initial public offering (IPO).

The report also cited sources who said that Altman had excluded Friar from conversations with investors and from meetings concerning key financial decisions. Both executives denied the report, saying they were “fully aligned.”

The following week, the Financial Times reported that OpenAI’s $852 billion valuation had caused concern among its investors, amid the company’s new focus on enterprise customers.

In recent months, OpenAI has made a series of moves to further a new strategy, one that involves maintaining ChatGPT’s place as the top consumer AI product, while also competing with Anthropic for corporate customers.

Some investors say these changes could leave OpenAI vulnerable to Anthropic and Google as it prepares for its IPO, the report said.