Sam Altman OpenAI’s $850 billion in planned buildouts, bubble concern
On Tuesday, September 23, 2025, Sam Altman is the CEO of Openai Inc. during the Media Tour of Stargate AI Data Center in Texas.
Kyle Grillot | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Abilene, Texas – Sam Altman stood on the hot Texas dirt patch that returned to dust storms on dry days and shifted mud after a sudden rain. Behind him, the heavy wind often reached excessive temperature of the state’s west-medium part of the west-middle complex will soon extended the outlines.
For Openai CEO, it was a suitable ground to explain what it called the largest infrastructure pressure of the modern internet period: jointly 17-Gigawatt building Prophecy– NvidiaAnd Softbank.
In less than 48 hours, Openai announced commitments equal to 17 nuclear power plants or about nine Hoover Dams. The plan will require the amount of electricity required to provide power to more than 13 million USA.
The scale is surprising even for a company that collects a record amount of private market cash and sees that its valuation has risen to $ 500 billion. Approximately $ 50 billion per site, Openai’s projects add expenditure up to 850 billion dollars, the $ 2 trillion global AI infrastructure HSBC is now estimating about half of the HSBC.
Altman understands the concern. But he rejects the idea that his spending frenzy is extreme.
“People are worried. I understand this completely. I think it’s a natural thing,” he said. “We are growing faster than any job I have heard before.”
Altman, the building explosion In response to the rising demand, he emphasized ten -fold leap in the use of chatgpt in the last 18 months. Authorized, AI’s capabilities to maximize a super -computer facilities network, he said.
“This is what you need to deliver artificial intelligence,” Altman said. “Unlike previous technological revolutions or previous versions of the Internet, there are too many infrastructures necessary and this is a small example.”
The biggest bottleneck for artificial intelligence is not money or chips – electricity. Altman put money on nuclear companies because he sees stable, concentrated production as one of the only energy sources that are strong enough to meet AI’s enormous demand.
In order to create a demonstration reactor, Altman continued a $ 500 million financing tour to the fusion company Helion Energy, and supported Oklo, a fission company that he opened to the public through his own Spac last year.
Critics warn about a bubble showing how companies such as Nvidia and Oracle are Broadcom And each of Microsoft added hundreds of billions of dollars market value behind the vineyards with cash -burning Openai. NVIDIA and Microsoft are now equal to about 13.5% of $ 8.1 trillion or S&P 500.
Suspects also say that the system looks like a circular financing model. Openai is committed to hundreds of billions of dollars for projects based on partners such as Nvidia, Oracle and Softbank. These companies invest in the same projects at the same time and then repay them through CHIP sales and data center rentals.
Frar has a different perspective– Arguing that the entire ecosystem came together to meet a historical fluctuation in calculation needs. Big Technology Bangs, Frriar recorded, He always needed this kind of brave, coordinated infrastructure.
Altman added that such excessive investment and inadequate investment cycles indicate every past technological revolution. Some people said they would definitely feel the pain.
“People will be burned out of excessive investment and people are burned from inadequate investment and have not enough capacity.” He said. “Smart people will be extremely excited and people will lose a lot of money. People will earn a lot of money. But in the long run, I am sure that the value of this technology will be gigantic to society. “
‘More and more demand’
Openai’s partners are betting for this future. Oracle reshapes even its leadership. Company on Monday Bile replaced Catz and introduced Clay Magouuyrk and Mike Sicilia to CEO roles. Magouuyrk was the president of the cloud infrastructure and Sicilia Oracle Industries.
Magourk told CNBC in his statement, “When you think about why he’s making a transition now, around Oracle’s establishment for success,” he said. “I only see more demand from end users … What resembles endless demand close to technology.”
Nvidia emphasizes equality alongside her chips, including new Vera Rubin accelerators to provide power to the next wave of AI workloads. Abilene facility is rented by Oracle.
Openai Cfo Sarah Frry puts the balance sheets to work to create these amazing data centers that you see behind us, “Openai Cfo Sarah Frigar said in an interview on the site. He said.
While Openai will pay operating expenses for data centers when they are online, NVIDIA’s investments increase the project.
“But more importantly, as these chips are deployed, they will receive payment for all these chips,” Frriar said, referring to the arrangement with Nvidia.
Frar, who helped buy before To obstruct Open to the public as a CFO and was directed later Nextdoor As the CEO, he pointed to the public market the balance of balancing between the equity, debt and operating expenses. Now he said that groundbreaking facilities aim to bring new capacity online next year.
“But then it was about what was built for 2027, 2028 and 2029.” “A great calculation crisis we see today. There is not enough calculation to do everything AI can do, and that’s why we need to start it – and we need to do it as a complete ecosystem.”
As for Openai’s long -term relationship with Microsoft, “A great partners, Frriar said that the company’s calculation capacity will continue to be a key supplier.
He implied that more developments with Microsoft is on the road and that he was “pleased that we are in our place, but we’re not yet ready to announce everything”.
In Frriar’s current role, the figures are much larger than two companies where they are open to the public. In the end, Openai investors will wait for feedback from heavy investments, but Altman said that a public offering problem was “complex”.
“I assume that we will be a public company one day.” He said. “I have mixed feelings about this … For now, we can certainly increase a lot of capital in private markets.”
Considering the need to meet Wall Street’s expectations on a three -month basis, the public said that being open can make long -term investments difficult. However, he said he would open access to a wider investor base.
“I think the world should have shares in Openai if people want people. I think this is great and I want it to be.” He said.
In the near term, in places like the story Abilene, and eventually New Mexico, Ohio and other places on chips and data centers are put on billions of dollars.
But Openai is not just about infrastructure. In May, the company made a striking announcement that Jony Ive has purchased its new devices for approximately 6.4 billion dollars. It was not an accident to bring the iPhone designer and the rest of Apple’s most popular products.
While in Texas, Altman pointed out the hardware to reshape how people use computers in their daily lives.
Openai CEO said that computers have never really “understand and think”, and that this breakthrough has created the chance to invented a completely new way to use them.
He warned Openai that it would take time for him to do something ready to be sent. Even when he gets there, the company plans to publish only a “small device family”. However, Altman said the potential was “something big” and was worth pursuing.
WRISTWATCH: OpenAi CFO: I need partners like Oracle and Microsoft to meet the demand.
