Nvidia is also in talks to invest up to $30 billion in a deal that would value OpenAI at $730 billion pre-funding. “We love working with Nvidia, and they make the best AI chips in the world,” CEO Sam Altman recently said, highlighting the reliance on the chipmaker’s hardware.

The company is also facing increased pressure on its flagship products, especially as competitors like Google and Anthropic gain momentum. In response, OpenAI reportedly declared a "code red" in December last year to focus on improving the core experience of ChatGPT.

Usage remains at an all-time high, with the chatbot now serving over 900 million weekly active users, according to sources. This represents a significant jump from 800 million in October, indicating continued strong consumer demand despite broader concerns about profitability.

In addition to its general-purpose chat, OpenAI is doubling down on specialized tools like Codex to capture the lucrative developer market. The programming product has surpassed 1.5 million weekly active users, although it faces direct competition from Anthropic's Claude Code.

The main goal of the revised $600 billion spending plan is to more directly link capital expenditures to expected revenue growth. By providing clearer timelines and a lower spending limit, the startup aims to alleviate investor concerns about an unsustainable "money-burning furnace."

As the AI industry matures, the focus is shifting from pure capabilities to the underlying economics of the technology. Whether OpenAI can turn its nearly billion users into a revenue generator of $280 billion remains a crucial question for its high-risk expansion.