OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated the company does not seek government guarantees for its data centers, despite earlier comments from CFO Sarah Friar regarding potential loan backing.
Altman’s statement on X Thursday addressed questions surrounding the company’s projected $1.4 trillion data center build-outs and usage commitments. OpenAI’s current annual revenue run rate is $20 billion. OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar, speaking at a The Wall Street Journal event on Wednesday, had suggested the U.S. government “backstop” the company’s infrastructure loans to reduce costs and ensure access to advanced chips. A government backstop implies taxpayer responsibility if the company defaults, leading to more favorable loan terms from lenders.
I would like to clarify a few things.
First, the obvious one: we do not have or want government guarantees for OpenAI datacenters. We believe that governments should not pick winners or losers, and that taxpayers should not bail out companies that make bad business decisions or…
— Sam Altman (@sama) November 6, 2025
Friar noted that using older chips for compute-constrained OpenAI makes financing affordable but stated the goal is to utilize state-of-the-art chips. She indicated the company sought an “ecosystem” including banks, private equity firms, and potentially the government for financing. When pressed on government involvement, she mentioned, “the backstop, the guarantee that allows the financing to happen. That can really drop the cost of the financing but also increase the loan-to-value, so the amount of debt that you can take on top of an equity portion.” She also implied ongoing discussions, particularly in the U.S., remarking, “The U.S. government, in particular has been incredibly forward-leaning, has really understood that AI is almost a national strategic asset.”
Following publication of her remarks by The Wall Street Journal and subsequent criticism on X, Friar retracted her comments. She posted on LinkedIn, “I want to clarify my comments earlier today. OpenAI is not seeking a government backstop for our infrastructure commitments. I used the word ‘backstop’ and it muddies the point.”
On Thursday, David Sacks, described as Trump’s AI czar and a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, commented on X that the U.S. has no plans to bail out any AI company. Sacks wrote, “There will be no federal bailout for AI. The U.S. has at least 5 major frontier model companies. If one fails, others will take its place.” He also stated the government’s focus is on easing “permitting and power generation.”
There will be no federal bailout for AI. The U.S. has at least 5 major frontier model companies. If one fails, others will take its place.
— David Sacks (@DavidSacks) November 6, 2025
Altman later echoed Sacks’ sentiments. He wrote on X, “We do not have or want government guarantees for OpenAI datacenters. We believe that governments should not pick winners or losers, and that taxpayers should not bail out companies that make bad business decisions or otherwise lose in the market.” He clarified that discussions about loan guarantees have occurred, but for semiconductor fabs in the U.S., not for OpenAI’s operations. “The one area where we have discussed loan guarantees is as part of supporting the buildout of semiconductor fabs in the US, where we and other companies have responded to the government’s call and where we would be happy to help (though we did not formally apply).”
Altman anticipates addressing continued questions about financing the company’s projected $1 trillion buildout. He stated, “We expect to end this year above $20 billion in annualized revenue run rate and grow to hundreds of billion by 2030. We are looking at commitments of about $1.4 trillion over the next 8 years,” expressing confidence in OpenAI’s prospects, particularly its enterprise offerings, new consumer devices, and robotics.
