OpenAI’s rapid expansion and infrastructure build-out are being funded not by the company itself, but largely by its partners through heavy borrowing. Firms such as Oracle, SoftBank and CoreWeave — along with a network of cloud- and data-centre operators — now reportedly carry close to US$100 billion in debt tied to supplying computing power and data-centre capacity for OpenAI.
Under this structure, OpenAI stays largely debt-free even as it commits to massive procurement and infrastructure deals. Partners have taken on billions through loans, bonds and special-purpose vehicles (SPVs), with plans for further borrowing (some reports mention an additional US$38 billion in financing under discussion).
This debt-heavy funding model enables OpenAI to scale its AI operations quickly, securing compute capacity and data-centre infrastructure without directly bearing equivalent financial risk. But the burden of financing — and the accompanying risk — shifts to the partner-companies and their lenders.
Analysts warn that while this model accelerates build-out, it also creates significant exposure across the ecosystem. If revenues from AI services or demand for compute infrastructure fall short, companies carrying the debt could face serious financial stress — even though OpenAI itself remains insulated.
This arrangement underscores just how capital-intensive the push for advanced AI is. For firms and investors involved in this infrastructure ecosystem, the rewards may be high — but so is the risk.
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