Top Podcasts on OpenAI's Compute Ambitions
Updated: Feb 20, 2026 – 3 episodes
OpenAI has informed investors that it is aiming for approximately $600 billion in total compute spending by 2030. This announcement comes just months after CEO Sam Altman highlighted a much larger $1.4 trillion in infrastructure commitments, indicating a significant focus on scaling its computational resources to support future AI developments.
Three very different takes here — start with Better Offline for the bear case. They argue that OpenAI's ambitious compute spending targets are financially unsustainable, with a sharp critique on the industry's current economic model. The Last Invention questions the effectiveness of massive investments in AI infrastructure, suggesting that scaling data and compute power won't lead to true artificial general intelligence. Tech Brew Ride Home highlights OpenAI's struggles with data center delays and compares its growth unfavorably to Anthropic. Each episode provides a unique perspective on the challenges facing OpenAI's ambitious plans.
Listen to the Playlist
Ridealong has curated the best podcasts and clips about OpenAI is telling investors it's targeting ~$600B in total compute spend by 2030, months after Sam Altman touted $1.4T in infrastructure commitments (CNBC). Listen now.
Podcast Episodes Covering This Story
At a glance
The podcast segment presents a critical view of the financial sustainability of AI companies like OpenAI, contrasting sharply with the optimistic projections of compute spending, suggesting that the reality of operational costs could undermine these ambitious targets.
Key quote from this episode
“This is why OpenAI and Anthropic burn billions and billions of dollars. The margins fucking stink. Every product is unprofitable. And none of these companies can afford their bills based on their actual cashflow. Generative AI is not a functional industry. And once the money works that out, everything burns.”
At a glance
Massive investments in AI infrastructure are misguided because scaling up data and compute power will eventually hit a wall and not lead to true artificial general intelligence.
Key quote from this episode
“Now remember that one of the reasons we've been seeing this massive amount of investment and the building out of these data centers all around the world is partly because of the theory that the more we scale up the data and the compute power of these AI systems, the more capable they become. But again, Gary looked at all that and said, this is going to hit a wall.”
At a glance
OpenAI is struggling with data center delays and is being outpaced by Anthropic in revenue growth and compute power expansion.
Key quote from this episode
“Sam's AI lab is notably suffering from multiple data center delays, which we've called out months ahead of the headlines, most notably in our CoreWeave Q3 2025 earnings preview, where we explicitly called out a large CapEx guidance miss. Since more compute means more revenue, we can forecast ARR growth and compare Anthropic to OpenAI directly. Notably, our forecast shows that Anthropic's quarterly ARR additions have overtaken OpenAI's.”
Sentiment Overview
Bearish (3)