As OpenAI prepares for a high-stakes initial public offering (IPO), a new report from The Wall Street Journal reveals the company is falling short of its own aggressive targets. These setbacks are creating friction within the leadership team as they face a staggering $600 billion bill for future computing power. +1

Missing the Mark on Growth

OpenAI entered 2026 having missed several key performance milestones intended to impress potential public market investors:

• User Plateau: The company failed to reach its internal goal of one billion weekly active users for ChatGPT by the end of 2025.
• Revenue Shortfalls: After a year of explosive growth, OpenAI missed multiple monthly revenue targets in early 2026. While its annual revenue run-rate remains impressive at roughly $20 billion, it is not meeting the hyper-growth projections set by leadership. +1
• Customer Retention: Internal data suggests “churn” (the rate at which paid subscribers cancel) is higher than expected, signaling that some consumers and businesses may be moving to cheaper or more specialized alternatives.

Fierce Competition: Google and Anthropic Close In

The report highlights that OpenAI’s near-monopoly on the AI market is ending.

• Google’s Gemini has aggressively reclaimed market share in the consumer space.
• Anthropic has become a major thorn in OpenAI’s side, winning over lucrative enterprise and coding clients. Despite having far less capital than OpenAI, Anthropic has nearly closed the revenue gap, leading to questions about OpenAI’s operational efficiency.

The $600 Billion “Compute” Conflict

The most explosive detail in the report involves a growing divide between CEO Sam Altman and CFO Sarah Friar over the company’s massive financial commitments.

• The Spending Spree: Altman has locked the company into roughly $600 billion in future data center spending through 2030 to ensure OpenAI stays ahead in the “compute” race.
• The CFO’s Warning: Sarah Friar has reportedly expressed serious concern that OpenAI may be unable to pay for these massive contracts if revenue growth doesn’t accelerate.
• IPO Disagreement: While Altman is pushing for a 2026 IPO to capitalize on current valuations (recently pegged at over $850 billion), Friar is reportedly advocating for a delay. She argues that the company’s internal financial controls are not yet ready for the transparency and reporting standards required of a public corporation. +1

A Critical Juncture

Despite recently raising $122 billion in the largest funding round in Silicon Valley history, OpenAI’s burn rate remains astronomical. With projected losses of $14 billion this year alone, the company is under immense pressure to prove that its path to profitability is more than just a theoretical projection. For investors, the question is no longer just whether OpenAI can build the best AI, but whether it can afford to run it.