OpenAI has reduced its computing power spending plan for 2030 from $1.4 trillion to $600 billion, according to CNBC.

The management presented investors with a revised estimate and clear timelines for planned expenditures. This adjustment comes amid concerns that the company's initial plans were overly ambitious and unlikely to yield the expected revenue.

OpenAI forecasts that by 2030, its revenue will exceed $280 billion, with equal contributions from both consumer and corporate segments.

In 2025, the startup reported revenue of over $20 billion, as stated by CFO Sarah Friar in January. However, CNBC journalists cite different figures: revenue was $13.1 billion, with actual expenses at $8 billion instead of the planned $9 billion.

Stargate Fails

Another disappointment has been the Stargate project. The much-anticipated $500 billion initiative, launched in early 2025, has failed, according to media reports.

Thirteen months later, the joint venture has not hired any staff, started construction on any facilities, and partners cannot agree on responsibilities.

According to The Information, Stargate lacks a team, separate management, and is not involved in building OpenAI's data centers. For months, the parties have argued over basic issues: who will build the facilities, own them, and how funding will be allocated.

From September to October 2025, top executives from the AI startup made several trips to Tokyo to negotiate with SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. However, they could not decide who would be the developer and owner of the flagship campus in Texas.

OpenAI considered pursuing the project independently, but lenders refused to provide funding.

AI Not as Resource-Intensive

At The Indian Express event, Sam Altman addressed concerns about the environmental impact of artificial intelligence. He stated that fears about excessive water consumption are "completely fabricated."

"This was a real issue back when data centers used evaporative cooling. Now that we don’t do that, you can find claims online like: 'Don’t use ChatGPT. It consumes 17 gallons of water per request.' That is completely false, absolutely insane, and has nothing to do with reality," the entrepreneur said.

He added that it is "fair" to be concerned about overall energy consumption—not per request, but in total. According to Altman, the world needs to "rapidly transition to nuclear, wind, and solar energy."

When asked whether a single request to ChatGPT requires energy comparable to charging an iPhone one and a half times, the OpenAI CEO answered negatively. He stated that actual figures are far from those values.

He lamented that many discuss the high electricity consumption for creating AI, but no one talks about "how much it costs a person to fulfill one request."

"Training also requires a lot of energy. It’s about 20 years of life and all the food you eat during that time before you become smart. Moreover, this was preceded by the evolution of 100 billion people who ever lived, learning not to be eaten by predators, understanding science, and so on," the entrepreneur stated.

According to Altman, a more appropriate comparison would be:

"How much energy does it take for ChatGPT to answer a question compared to a human? In that context, AI has likely already achieved comparable energy efficiency."

It’s worth noting that AI has caused issues in the energy systems of wealthy countries.