Elon Musk's 'they don't have money' for Sam Altman's OpenAI may be coming true, and it may be affecting two of its biggest partners, Oracle and Softbank
Times of India
by TOI TECH DESKFebruary 23, 2026
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Elon Musk's skepticism about the financial viability of Sam Altman's OpenAI appears to be materializing, with significant repercussions for two major partners, Oracle and SoftBank. The ambitious $500 billion Stargate AI data center project, announced in January 2025 at the White House, has stalled due to internal disagreements between OpenAI and SoftBank over ownership, leadership, and funding. This impasse has led to missed targets, delayed construction, and strained relationships, ultimately affecting Oracle's stock value and its ability to meet infrastructure goals.
The project's failure to progress stems from a fundamental disagreement over control of the Texas campus. OpenAI sought independence by attempting to secure debt financing for standalone data centers, but lenders balked due to OpenAI's uncertain path to profitability until 2029. This left OpenAI reliant on expensive cloud services from AWS and Google Cloud, increasing its projected spending from $450 billion to $665 billion by 2030. The lack of progress has also forced Oracle to reconsider its massive $300 billion, five-year cloud computing contract with OpenAI, leading to a significant drop in Oracle's stock value and a market capitalization loss of over $400 billion.
Oracle faces mounting financial pressure, with debt exceeding $100 billion and credit default swap costs spiking. To address cash flow concerns, the company is considering employee cuts, raising new capital, and exploring asset sales, including its healthcare unit Cerner. These measures aim to cover an estimated $156 billion in infrastructure spending and secure 3 million GPUs for Stargate. However, the ongoing delays and financial instability highlight the challenges of executing such a large-scale project.
This situation underscores the broader difficulties of managing complex partnerships and funding massive AI initiatives. The setbacks at Stargate not only reflect poorly on OpenAI's leadership but also raise questions about the feasibility of ambitious tech projects without clear profitability or collaboration frameworks. For readers interested in global technology and business, this story highlights the risks
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Originally published on Times of India on 2/23/2026