Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) publicly expressed serious reservations on Wednesday regarding OpenAI's financial conduct and its possible positioning for government financial backing. The concerns originate from prior statements by OpenAI's Chief Financial Officer implying the federal government could serve as a financial "backstop" if the company faced monetary difficulties. Warren took to the social media platform X to urge scrutiny over the implications of taxpayer resources potentially supporting a tech firm that compensates its employees lavishly in equity.
Through her post, Warren emphasized the apparent discord between OpenAI's vast stock-based awards and the prospect of public funds acting as a safety net. She pointed out that OpenAI employees receive, on average, around $1.5 million annually in stock compensation, raising questions about the distribution of risk and reward within the company's structure.
This compensation figure was initially reported in December 2025 by the Wall Street Journal, which revealed that OpenAI stands as one of the highest-paying tech startups in recent memory based on investor financial disclosures. Despite attempts to reach OpenAI for comment, the company had not provided an immediate response to inquiries regarding these allegations.
Further intensifying the debate, Warren shared a report from The Verge highlighting her direct demand for transparency about OpenAI's financial relationship with government entities. In a letter addressed to OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman, she voiced concern over what she framed as a “classic strategy” of privatizing profits while socializing losses, a tactic where a company reap significant financial gains privately but expects public resources to cover failures.
Her letter underscored that OpenAI's commitments to exceed $1 trillion in spending occur in the absence of profitability. Warren apprehended that such a vast expenditure coupled with ongoing losses might motivate the company to seek government aid if it becomes unable to meet its financial obligations independently.
OpenAI has formally denied that it is seeking guarantees or bailouts from the government. Following backlash from CFO Sarah Friar's comments about a possible governmental "backstop," Friar retracted the statement. Additionally, CEO Altman clarified the company neither possesses nor desires government guarantees for infrastructure like data centers. However, Warren noted these declarations do not conclusively preclude federal loans, loan guarantees, or sector-wide support mechanisms, which could still provide indirect benefits to OpenAI given its operational scale.
To obtain clarity, Senator Warren has demanded that Altman provide detailed disclosures by February 13, 2026. These disclosures should include any ongoing discussions with government agencies, specific types of federal assistance being pursued, and explicit information about tax credits solicited by the company. The request extends to comprehensive financial forecasts through 2032, delineating whether any current or planned ChatGPT products are profitable or expected to become so within the forthcoming three years.
OpenAI's recent financial results show remarkable expansion. In January 2026, it announced reaching an annualized revenue run rate exceeding $20 billion for 2025, which represents a 233% growth compared to 2024. This surge is part of a rapid revenue increase that saw figures climb from $2 billion in 2023 to $6 billion in 2024. The company also expanded its computing capacity substantially, increasing from 0.2 gigawatts in 2023 to 0.6 gigawatts in 2024, and further to almost 1.9 gigawatts in 2025. This near tenfold rise over two years signals an intense scaling of resource consumption.
Despite the significant revenue and scaling, OpenAI reportedly incurs operational expenses exceeding $17 billion annually. Indications are that subscription-based revenue may not suffice to cover the hefty costs associated with the company's highly compute-intensive artificial intelligence operations.
These developments have led to a public discourse regarding the sustainability of OpenAI's financial model and the implications for taxpayers potentially bearing the risk should the company's profitability not materialize. Senator Warren's interventions seek to ensure fiscal responsibility and transparency in the intersection of innovative technology ventures and public fiscal exposure.