OpenAI Races to Its IPO Even as Projections Show it won’t Earn Until 2030

OpenAI is reportedly racing toward a fourth-quarter IPO that would test investor faith in the giant startup—and in the AI boom itself.

If OpenAI’s IPO succeeds while burning billions and projecting losses through 2030, it would be a sign the AI boom still has room to run. (Photo: Focal Foto Flickr) 

The AI lab has begun informal talks with Wall Street banks, according to The Wall Street Journal, in an effort to beat rival AI startup Anthropic to market, Beatrice Nolan reported for Fortune Tech.

While OpenAI boasts a $500 billion valuation, it doesn’t expect to turn a profit until 2030.

The AI lab wouldn’t be the first unprofitable company to go public, of course. Amazon remained unprofitable for years after its 1997 IPO as it prioritized growth.

But OpenAI is also burning through billions at an immense rate as it rushes to build massive data centers to train and run its AI models.

HSBC projects that between now and 2030, OpenAI will face a cumulative $207 billion gap between the revenue it generates and what it needs to spend—despite bringing in as much as $213 billion in revenue over that span.

If OpenAI’s IPO succeeds while burning billions and projecting losses through 2030, it would be a sign the AI boom still has room to run.

But if investors balk—if the IPO stumbles or is repriced at a discount—it would signal that the market may have finally reached its tolerance threshold for hype over fundamentals.