OpenAI faces scrutiny as partners approach $100bn debt

OpenAI’s accelerating demand for computing power is pushing major partners, including SoftBank, Oracle, and CoreWeave, into unprecedented borrowing, according to a new report.

While the Sam Altman-owned company continues scaling ChatGPT and its next-generation models, partners have so far taken on at least $30 billion in loans to support the infrastructure required for the company’s growth.

The figure grows even larger when financing from additional investors and hardware-leasing providers is added, bringing total OpenAI-linked liabilities close to $100 billion.

According to an analysis by the Financial Times, infrastructure suppliers such as Crusoe and Blue Owl hold roughly $28 billion in loans tied to data centres and compute commitments, while banks are negotiating another $38 billion in financing that would enable Oracle and Vantage to build new AI-ready facilities.

Despite its massive valuation of $500 billion, OpenAI has strategically shifted much of the financial burden onto partners.

Internally, the company is said to believe its expansion is best served when external balance sheets carry the risk, even as OpenAI signs multi-year chip and compute commitments reportedly worth $1.4 trillion.

With global shortages of high-end hardware and demand surging, analysts have warned that OpenAI’s ecosystem could face mounting pressure.

Yet the company maintains that scaling remains essential and that the debt surrounding its growth is an inevitable part of building future AI systems.