The future of OpenAI has been thrown into uncertainty as the company reportedly lacks the funds to honor its $300 billion deal with Oracle Corporation ORCL.
OpenAI Faces Funding Shortfall Amid $300 Billion Oracle Deal
OpenAI, a major player in the AI industry, is facing a significant financial hurdle. The company, which has been aggressively expanding its operations, is unable to meet its financial obligations, Sherwood reported.
The deal with Oracle, which is valued at $300 billion over five years starting in 2027, has brought OpenAI’s financial situation into sharp focus. The company is currently unable to cover this amount, despite its efforts to secure funding from private markets.
OpenAI’s financial struggles are particularly noteworthy given the current state of the stock market. According to Sherwood, when combining the cash burn of four major tech companies during their peak cash-burning periods, including Uber Technologies Inc. UBER, Tesla Inc. TSLA, Snap Inc. SNAP, and Netflix Inc. NFLX, the total is a mere $42 billion. This amount, which would have been remarkable to raise in the public markets a few years ago, is insufficient to cover OpenAI’s peak cash burn for a single year.
David Crowther from Sherwood states that the ChatGPT-maker is projected to spend $115 billion by 2029. “No company in history has ever lit that much money on fire intentionally, let alone tried funding such a splurge through private markets alone.”
Analysts Divided Over The Viability Of Oracle-OpenAI Deal
The news of OpenAI’s financial difficulties comes on the heels of a historic rally in Oracle’s stock price, driven by the company’s massive cloud commitments tied to OpenAI. This development underscores OpenAI’s significant influence across technology markets and raises questions about the potential impact of OpenAI’s financial struggles on Oracle’s future.
Despite these challenges, some industry experts believe that OpenAI’s $300 billion deal with Oracle highlights the company’s early position in the AI race. This perspective suggests that OpenAI may still be able to attract investors in the private markets, despite the cooling of AI adoption.
However, not everyone is optimistic about Oracle’s future. Famed short-seller Jim Chanos has publicly questioned the quality of Oracle’s massive new backlog, arguing that the cornerstone $300 billion deal with OpenAI is risky, years away from starting, and reminiscent of the company’s past accounting controversies.
According to Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings, Oracle has a growth score of 66.07% and a momentum rating of 94.03%. Click here to see how it compares to other leading tech companies.
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