OpenAI projects $278B in negative free cash flow through 2030

OpenAI projects approximately $278 billion in cumulative negative free cash flow through 2030 while expecting roughly $856 billion of compute and infrastructure spending, according to the Financial Times.
The company reportedly expects annual revenue to rise from $36 billion this year to $350 billion by 2030, with cumulative revenue of roughly $840 billion through the end of the decade. Its $122 billion cash raise from March is projected to be exhausted in 2028.
OpenAI is discussing another major funding round as investors approach the company around a $1.2 trillion valuation, while OpenAI is reportedly seeking a higher figure. The latest cash-burn projection is nevertheless lower than the roughly $305 billion estimate reported in May.
The figures highlight both the scale of OpenAI's expected growth and the extraordinary capital intensity of frontier AI, with compute spending, pricing competition and access to additional financing remaining major variables.