tech
OpenAI's light balance sheet faces a hard IPO look
OpenAI’s books show zero debt and just $46mn of quarterly capital spending. The catch, reported by The Information: around $665bn of commitments sitting just off the balance sheet, now heading for regulators’ desks.
TL;DR
- OpenAI's balance sheet shows zero debt and low capital spending, but has $665bn in off-balance-sheet purchase commitments.
- These commitments are mainly for computing resources, with the company relying on partners like Microsoft, Oracle, and Amazon.
- Approximately 72% of OpenAI's cost of revenue goes to related parties, notably Microsoft, its major funder and supplier.
- OpenAI projects ambitious advertising revenue growth, aiming to capture a significant portion of the AI search and chatbot ad market.
- The company has experienced substantial cash burn, spending $34bn last year and $3.7bn in the first three months of 2026.