Here’s one way to handle a tough question about your company’s finances: don’t answer it, and instead offer to help the person asking cash out their position.
That’s essentially what OpenAI CEO Sam Altman did during a November 2 appearance on the BG² podcast, hosted by investor Brad Gerstner. When Gerstner pressed Altman on how OpenAI plans to fund over $1.4 trillion in multi-year compute spending against its current revenue base, Altman sidestepped the math and offered to find a buyer for Gerstner’s shares.
The trillion-dollar question that didn’t get an answer
Gerstner cited OpenAI’s annual revenue at roughly $13 billion. Altman pushed back on that number, claiming the company generates “well more” than $13 billion. He projected that OpenAI is on track to surpass $20 billion in annualized revenue by the end of 2025.
OpenAI’s revenue has grown from approximately $1 billion in 2023 to about $13 billion in 2025. Altman’s longer-term vision is even more ambitious. He suggested OpenAI aims to reach “hundreds of billions” in annual revenue by 2030.
Rather than walking through the bridge between current revenue and trillion-dollar capital requirements, Altman pivoted to secondary market appetite for OpenAI equity, and he offered to help Gerstner sell his shares if the investor had concerns.
Confidence or deflection?
Gerstner responded by saying he actually wants to buy more OpenAI shares, not fewer.
The company’s revenue streams span ChatGPT subscriptions, enterprise services, and emerging consumer hardware initiatives. None of them individually, or even collectively, explain how a company generating tens of billions funds commitments measured in the trillions.
What this means for investors watching AI’s capital arms race
If OpenAI hits its $20 billion annualized run rate by late 2025, that would represent roughly 20x revenue growth in just two years. Google, Meta, Amazon, and a growing roster of well-funded startups are all pouring capital into AI infrastructure.
For anyone evaluating OpenAI’s trajectory, the question isn’t whether the company is growing. The question is whether growth alone can bridge a gap measured in orders of magnitude between revenue and infrastructure commitments.