OpenAI faces trouble with its $18 billion chip funding round, shaking the narrative of an AI boom.

According to a report by The Information on Thursday, OpenAI has yet to raise approximately $18 billion in funding related to its proprietary chip development agreement with Broadcom (AVGO). This Capital shortfall suggests that AI infrastructure development deals are outpacing the actual Capital needed to finance them.

This shortfall is centered on the first phase of OpenAI's planned deployment of a 10-gigawatt chip array designed over several years. This proprietary chip development program is central to OpenAI's plan to reduce its reliance on Nvidia (NVDA).

OpenAI's spending is becoming more strained.

The agreement with Broadcom was announced in October 2025 and is expected to entail an investment of up to approximately $500 billion in hardware. This includes chips, networking equipment, power supplies, and data center infrastructure. The deployment of this 10 gigawatt aims to help OpenAI reduce its dependence on Nvidia hardware .

Despite rapid revenue growth, OpenAI is projected to have used up approximately $115 billion by 2029. Recently, its failure to meet internal growth targets has also drawn increased attention from investors.

Partners also have to find their own financing to ensure the agreements continue to be maintained. For example, Oracle (ORCL) raised $18 billion from a bond issuance last September to support its approximately $300 billion commitment to OpenAI.

AI investment spending faces new challenges.

Tech giants are projected to Capital between $600 billion and $720 billion on infrastructure by 2026, with approximately three-quarters of that allocated to AI infrastructure development. Lenders are increasingly concerned that returns may not materialize as expected.

Nvidia itself has also noted a sharp increase in outstanding customer payments . Currently, total receivables amount to nearly $33 billion due to numerous purchasing partners delaying payments. Investor Michael Burry has previously suggested that this revenue shows signs of accounting irregularities .

"The sham deal between Disney and OpenAI accurately reflects the current AI bubble, where multi-billion dollar deals are constantly being announced as if they were certain, similar to OpenAI's announcements with Broadcom, AMD, or the $100 billion contract with NVIDIA," one user commented .

OpenAI now has limited options. The company could restructure its Capital, change lending partners, or scale back its chip deployment. Each of these options will affect how much of its projected AI investment for 2026 will actually materialize.

The price of Worldcoin (WLD) only dropped slightly, to $0.2526, following this news.