According to Bloomberg, OpenAI’s financial risks have always been a hidden danger. Although the company is already an AI giant, in the opinion of Jason Furman, a well-known American economist and Harvard professor, it is "by no means" too big to fail.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that,OpenAI is seeking a new round of financing, with a financing amount of up to US$100 billion, and its valuation has soared to US$830 billion, higher than the previous US$500 billion.
Since the beginning of this year, OpenAI has set off a transaction frenzy with a scale of US$1 trillion, signing large-scale cooperation agreements with chip manufacturers, data center developers, and many technology giants. The series of moves has raised concerns inside and outside the company: If the unprofitable startup eventually runs into trouble due to excessive debt, will it be considered too big to fail?
For Furman, the answer is clear: "Absolutely not."
"I don't have any reason to think that OpenAI or other companies in the industry will go bankrupt," said Furman, who also advises OpenAI on workforce issues. "But even if they go bankrupt, these companies are not banks. They are not 'too big to fail.'"
Furman knows what happens when a business or industry collapses. In 2000, Furman served as a policy adviser in the Clinton administration, deducing the possibility of the Internet bubble bursting. Years later, he served as a key economic adviser to the Obama administration during the Great Recession, helping to craft an $800 billion economic stimulus package to revive economic growth.