number of winning AI stocks could narrow

CNBC’s Jim Cramer expressed concerns about OpenAI’s ability to pay for the billions of dollars it has pledged to spend on building out an infrastructure, suggesting that some AI companies may begin to underperform after months of easy wins.

“In that kind of environment, maybe over time you need to start diversifying into other areas of growth to keep all the king’s horses and all the king’s men on the sidelines,” he said. “Maybe OpenAI can go public and Humpty-Dumpty doesn’t have a huge collapse, but in the meantime, it’s something you should keep an eye on.”

OpenAI has signed deals worth hundreds of billions of dollars with many of its tech peers, and Cramer suggested the company may have to borrow money to meet its obligations. He said recent comments from OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar were concerning. At an event earlier this week, Friar floated the idea that OpenAI could use the government as a fulcrum to deliver on its commitments, which spooked investors — Friar even later clarified that OpenAI was not currently seeking government funding.

So far, most AI development has been driven by cash, not debt, Cramer said. However, he emphasized that financing with debt instead of cash is riskier and makes companies more vulnerable. He also warned that issues with OpenAI could spread across the industry because the company works with many in the industry. He likened the situation to the rise of the railroads in the United States, where some companies became heavily indebted and later went bankrupt. While he says he’s not saying OpenAI will go bankrupt, he wishes “those guys would slow down a little bit.”

Cramer suggests OpenAI enters fast-growing IPO market and raises billions of dollars with “Muddy the waters.” He also said he wants to “profit from miners, not just those who make Nvidia picks and AMD shovels” and see speculative tech stocks cool.

“I’m declaring that the rest of the year will be as if investing at a profit rather than magically,” Cramer said. “And there will be a lot fewer winners and a lot more losers for that to happen.”

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Disclaimer CNBC Investing Club Charitable Trust owns shares of Nvidia.