OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently said the company’s annual revenue is “well over” $13 billion, but he sounded a bit testy when asked how the company would cover its huge expenses.
His comments came during a joint interview between Altman and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on the Bg2 podcast about the partnership between the two companies. Host Brad Gerstner, who is also the founder and CEO of Altimeter Capital, brought up reports that the company currently has approximately $13 billion in revenue. While this is a significant amount, it dwarfs the more than $1 trillion that OpenAI will spend on computing infrastructure over the next decade.
“First of all, we’re making more money than that,” Altman said. “Secondly, Brad, if you want to sell your shares, I’ll find a buyer. I’m all you need. I’m sure there are many people who would like to buy OpenAI stock.”
“Including myself,” Gerstner interjected.
Altman added that there are critics who “speak with breathless concern about our computing connections and what they might be happy to buy our stock.”
In fact, he said, there are “not many” times when he would like OpenAI to be a public company, but “one of the rare times when it appeals to me is when these people are writing ridiculous things like, ‘OpenAI is about to go bankrupt.’ I tell them all they need to do is short the stock, and I want to see them get fired up about it.”
Altman acknowledged that the company has “potential for failure,” including not having access to sufficient computing resources, but said “revenues are growing rapidly.”
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“We are betting positively that ChatGPT will not only continue to grow, but that it can become one of the key AI clouds, that our consumer device business will become important and significant, and that AI that can automate science will create tremendous value,” he added.
While Nadella laughed at many of Altman’s answers, he also claimed that OpenAI “broke” every business plan it gave Microsoft as an investor.
Gerstner returned to the topic of OpenAI’s revenue and IPO plans later in the interview, speculating that the company could reach $100 billion in revenue in 2028 or 2029.
“What about 27 years?” Altman countered.
At the same time, he denied reports that OpenAI is planning to go public next year.
“No, nothing concrete,” Altman said. “I’m a realist and I think it will happen at some point, but I don’t know why people would write a report like this. There’s no set date, there’s no decision by the board to do this or anything like that. I just assume that’s how things will ultimately turn out.”
