OpenAI is preparing for a massive expansion that looks more like building global infrastructure than growing a typical software company. The AI giant has been informing investors that it is targeting more than $280 billion in cumulative revenue by 2030, reports Bloomberg. At the same time, the company expects to face over $100 billion in losses to finance the massive computing power required for next-generation AI. A prominent part of its latest strategy is an estimated $600 billion investment in compute capacity, including hyperscale data centers, advanced AI chips, high-speed networking, and the energy systems needed to run them.
OpenAI expects revenue growth to come from both consumer adoption and enterprise deployment. Consumer income is driven by subscriptions, premium features, and AI assistants integrated across devices. This has become especially significant as ChatGPT now has around 800-900 million weekly active users worldwide in early 2026. Meanwhile, enterprise offerings are also expected to play a major role in future earnings. Currently, the AI firm offers ChatGPT Enterprise, with pricing negotiated per organization, and ChatGPT Team, priced at about $25-$30 per user per month, giving companies scalable access to advanced AI tools. Even to diversify income beyond subscriptions and enterprise services, the company has also begun testing advertising and commerce features within ChatGPT, including sponsored product placements and shopping integrations.
Last month, the company’s chief financial officer, Sarah Friar, revealed that the ChatGPT maker’s annualized revenue run rate increased above $20 billion in 2025, marking a significant jump from around $6 billion in 2024. In 2025, the firm also sharply expanded its computing capacity, scaling from around 0.6 gigawatts in 2024 to about 1.9 gigawatts.
However, despite strong revenue projections, the economics of advanced AI remain highly cost-intensive. The company is expected to remain unprofitable for much of the decade because operating frontier AI systems requires continuous spending on compute infrastructure, semiconductor procurement, research and development, data center operations, networking, and energy. Hardware costs remain a major factor as high-performance GPUs and AI accelerators are expensive and supply-constrained, prompting investments in custom silicon to improve efficiency and reduce long-term dependence on third-party suppliers.
To sustain such a massive capital burden, the Microsoft-backed AI giant is reportedly exploring one of the largest private capital raises in history, potentially seeking up to $100 billion in new funding at a valuation estimated between $750 billion and $830 billion. In this round, SoftBank, Nvidia, and other technology giants could contribute significant capital. Notably, the firm has already raised around $58 billion in funding to date and is currently valued at over $300 billion.
The latest projections also come at a time when the Sam Altman-led firm appears to be shifting its position not just as a software developer but as a builder of global digital infrastructure and also as a maker of the physical devices people will use to interact with AI. The company is actively involved in the Stargate initiative, a joint infrastructure venture with partners including SoftBank and Oracle, aimed at building one of the largest AI computing networks ever attempted. The Stargate project is designed to invest up to $500 billion in AI infrastructure, including data center networks, energy systems, and high-capacity compute clusters to support next-generation AI workloads.
In parallel, OpenAI is also reportedly intensifying its push into consumer hardware. Following its $6.5 billion acquisition of io Products, a hardware design firm founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive, the company has been assembling teams to create a new category of AI-native devices. Recent reports indicate that more than 200 engineers and designers are working on a family of AI-powered products that could include a $200-$300 smart speaker, smart glasses, and even a smart lamp designed to embed ambient AI into everyday environments. Some of these products could debut as early as 2027. These initiatives will clearly require huge investment, further increasing the company’s capital needs.
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