Open AI projects it will burn through almost $280bn by the end of 2030, highlighting its huge long-term funding needs as the AI company pushes for a valuation of more than $1.2tn in fresh investment talks. The company expects negative free cash flow of $278bn over five years from 2026 to 2030 as it invests aggressively to expand its access to computing power, according to a recent presentation seen by the FT. Open AI expects its expenses will far outrun its revenues, which are projected to grow tenfold in the same period, from $36bn this year to $350bn in 2030.

In total the company anticipates booking $840bn in revenue between now and the end of 2030. The Chat GPT maker is asking investors — many of which have already poured tens of billions of dollars into the company — to buy into its aggressive spending plans and promising that the eventual returns will justify their faith. The $852bn AI lab recently entered talks for a major new funding round, the FT reported this week.

Backers approached the company to discuss investing at a $1.2tn valuation. Open AI is pushing for a higher valuation, according to a person close to the company. Open AI’s ability to meet its vast funding needs is critical to a network of financial arrangements and hardware deals the company has built up as it seeks to lock in scarce computing power.

Large tech groups from chipmaker Nvidia to Oracle and Soft Bank’s data centre business depend heavily on contracts with Open AI for their future revenues. Open AI forecasts spending about $856bn on computing power and infrastructure by the end of 2030, by far its largest single expense. Having raised $122bn in March, it is on track to exhaust that cash in 2028, the presentation suggests.

To support its growth, Open AI needs to pour hundreds of billions of dollars into data centres and computing power to train and run its models. It has also slashed prices as it seeks to win business from US rival Anthropic and see off the threat from cheaper, “open-weight” models from China. Open AI declined to comment.