OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Rejects Government Guarantees While Projecting $20 Billion Revenue Run Rate

The startup expects its annualized revenue run rate to grow to hundreds of billions by 2030, Altman said.

ChatGPT parent OpenAI does not "want government guarantees" for its data centers, CEO Sam Altman declared on Thursday, while revealing that the AI startup anticipates concluding this year with an annualized revenue run rate exceeding $20 billion.

OpenAI is currently undertaking a multi-billion dollar expansion of data center capacity and has established partnerships with chipmakers ranging from Nvidia to AMD as it invests heavily to secure the essential infrastructure required to power its advanced AI models.

Altman announced in a post on social media platform X that the startup projects its annualized revenue run rate will reach hundreds of billions by 2030. He further stated that the company is considering commitments of approximately $1.4 trillion over the next eight years.

This announcement comes at a pivotal moment for Wall Street, as investors grapple with concerns about a potential AI bubble, questioning the returns on hundreds of billions of dollars being invested in AI expansion.

"If we screw up and can't fix it, we should fail, and other companies will continue on doing good work and servicing customers," Altman acknowledged. "The ecosystem and economy would be fine."

David Sacks, the White House artificial intelligence and crypto czar, stated earlier on Thursday that there will be no federal bailout for AI, as the United States races to solidify its position as a global leader in this rapidly expanding technology sector.

"Given our vantage point, we feel good about it. But we of course could be wrong, and the market — not the government — will deal with it if we are," Altman remarked, addressing discussions about the federal government's stance on not intervening if the massive build-out of AI infrastructure fails to deliver expected results.

Altman clarified that OpenAI has discussed loan guarantees specifically as part of scaling up semiconductor fabrication in the United States.