OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has had enough of questions surrounding the company’s financial standing. Speaking on the Bg2 podcast, Altman said OpenAI is making “well more” than $13 billion in annual revenue — and didn’t hide his frustration when asked about how the company plans to fund its massive infrastructure commitments.
“First of all, we’re doing well more revenue than that,” Altman told host Brad Gerstner, who cited reports that OpenAI’s annual revenue stands near $13 billion. “Second of all, Brad, if you want to sell your shares, I’ll find you a buyer. I just — enough. I think there are a lot of people who would love to buy OpenAI shares.”
His response drew laughter from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who joined Altman on the podcast to discuss the companies’ deepening partnership.
Addressing skepticism about spending, growth
The conversation touched on reports that OpenAI faces over $1 trillion in spending commitments for computing infrastructure in the coming decade — a figure that has raised questions about its financial sustainability.
Altman dismissed those concerns, saying critics who “talk with a lot of breathless concern about our compute stuff” would be the first to invest if given the chance.
“There are not many times when I want OpenAI to be a public company,” Altman said. “But when people write these ridiculous ‘OpenAI is about to go out of business’ posts, I’d love to tell them to short the stock — and I’d love to see them get burned on that.”
“Revenue Is growing steeply”
Altman admitted that OpenAI could face hurdles, including access to sufficient computing resources, but insisted that its revenue is rising fast.
“We are taking a forward bet that it will continue to grow,” he said. “Not only will ChatGPT keep growing, but we will become one of the important AI clouds. Our consumer device business will be significant, and AI that can automate science will create huge value.”
Nadella backed Altman’s confidence, saying OpenAI has “beaten every business plan” it has shared with Microsoft as an investor.
OpenAI’s future: IPO still “someday,” not soon
Later in the interview, Gerstner speculated that OpenAI’s annual revenue could reach $100 billion by 2028 or 2029.
“How about ’27?” Altman replied, hinting at even faster growth.
Despite the optimism, Altman denied rumors of an imminent IPO, clarifying that OpenAI has no set timeline for going public.
“No, no, no, we don’t have anything that specific,” he said. “I assume it will happen someday, but we don’t have a date in mind or a board decision to do this.”
