HSBC warns OpenAI could remain unprofitable until 2030…

HSBC expects OpenAI to remain unprofitable until at least 2030, warning that the company will need an additional US$207 billion to fund its rapidly expanding compute footprint. While the bank analysts project OpenAI’s revenue could exceed US$213 billion by the end of the decade, it argues that infrastructure demands will vastly outpace cash generation.

• HSBC estimates OpenAI’s compute commitments could swell to US$1.4 trillion by 2033.
• Between now and 2030, the analysts model roughly US$792 billion in cloud and AI-infrastructure costs, including about US$620 billion in data-centre rentals alone.

The team, led by Nicolas Cote-Colisson, said OpenAI’s growth trajectory confronts “soaring infrastructure costs,” intensifying competition and an AI landscape that is “cash-intensive beyond any technology trend in history.”