OpenAI partners shoulder nearly $100 billion debt to fund its AI ambitions

Core Insights - OpenAI's rapid expansion is primarily financed through significant borrowing by its partners rather than direct borrowing by the company itself [3] - The total debt tied to OpenAI has reached approximately $100 billion, which is comparable to the combined net debt of major corporate borrowers like Volkswagen and Toyota [2][3] - OpenAI has committed to $1.4 trillion in procurement spending over eight years, contrasting sharply with its expected annualized revenue of $20 billion for this year [3] Debt Structure - Partners such as SoftBank, Oracle, and CoreWeave have collectively taken on at least $30 billion in debt to invest in OpenAI or build data centers for it [3] - An additional $28 billion in loans has been issued to firms like Blue Owl Capital and infrastructure companies that rely on OpenAI-related contracts for repayment [3] - Banks are negotiating to arrange another $38 billion for Oracle and Vantage Data Centers to support further OpenAI facilities [1][3] Financial Exposure - Oracle is facing the highest financial exposure, having lost $315 billion in market value since announcing a $300 billion deal with OpenAI [3] - Analysts expect Oracle to borrow $100 billion over the next four years to meet its commitments to OpenAI [3] - OpenAI maintains a $4 billion credit line established last year but has not utilized it, indicating a strategy of leveraging partners' balance sheets for growth [2][3]