Professor Gary Marcus of NYU suggests that OpenAI faces risks similar to WeWork, citing the company's delayed IPO plans. OpenAI, which was valued at $122 billion in a March funding round, has seen reports of new private valuations ranging between $1.2 trillion and $1.4 trillion. The company previously filed for a listing in June, but CEO Sam Altman has since ruled out a 2026 timeline.
Marcus highlights that OpenAI currently reports operating losses of approximately $2 billion per month, while its 2025 revenue reached $13 billion. These figures raise concerns for Nvidia shareholders and infrastructure lenders, especially as OpenAI projects hardware spending of roughly $600 billion through 2030. The professor warns that sentiment-driven valuations could lead to significant market instability.
The comparison to WeWork stems from that company's 2019 collapse, where a $47 billion private valuation plummeted to $10 billion before its eventual 2023 bankruptcy. Meanwhile, Anthropic is preparing for a potential November listing with valuation targets reported between $1.1 trillion and $1.5 trillion. This debut may serve as a benchmark for the broader AI sector's financing costs.
