According to a report by The Information, OpenAI anticipates a significant change in its primary sources of computing power over the next five years. By 2030, the company expects that three-quarters of its data center capacity will be provided by Stargate, a project heavily financed by SoftBank, one of OpenAI’s latest financial supporters. This marks a substantial shift from Microsoft, OpenAI’s largest shareholder, which currently meets most of the startup’s power requirements.
The transition is not expected to occur immediately. OpenAI plans to increase its investment in Microsoft-owned data centers over the next few years. During this period, OpenAI’s overall expenditures are projected to rise significantly. The Information notes that OpenAI is expected to burn through $20 billion in cash by 2027, a substantial increase from the $5 billion reportedly spent in 2024. By 2030, it is anticipated that costs associated with running AI models, known as inference, will surpass the expenses related to training AI models.