OpenAI significantly cuts expenditure target to $600 billion, squeezing profit margins and raising profitability concerns

OpenAI is readjusting its expansion expectations, informing investors that its total capital expenditure target by 2030 is approximately $600 billion, significantly down from the $1.4 trillion infrastructure commitment previously announced by CEO Sam Altman.

According to CNBC on February 20, OpenAI expects total revenue to exceed $280 billion by 2030, a substantial increase from $13.1 billion in 2025, with contributions from both consumer and enterprise businesses remaining roughly equal.

The report cites sources indicating that the company is currently providing investors with a lower and more clearly defined spending plan to address external doubts about its aggressive expansion ambitions.

According to The Information, OpenAI’s adjusted gross margin has fallen to 33% by 2025, and the company still expects to achieve positive cash flow by 2030.

Meanwhile, OpenAI is finalizing a large funding round potentially exceeding $100 billion, with about 90% coming from strategic investors. CNBC confirms that Nvidia is discussing an investment of up to $30 billion, and this funding round could value OpenAI at around $730 billion pre-money.

User Growth and Competition Pressure Coexist

ChatGPT currently supports over 900 million weekly active users, up from 800 million in October last year.

Although user growth slowed somewhat last fall, sources say that both weekly and daily active user numbers have now rebounded to record highs.

Facing competition from Google and Anthropic, OpenAI announced a “red alert” status in December last year, focusing on improving chatbot capabilities.

The company’s coding product Codex has over 1.5 million weekly active users, directly competing with Anthropic’s Claude Code, which has gained a large user base over the past year.

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