OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has revealed some potential risks to its business in a document shared with investors, which looks a lot like an IPO prospectus. One of the main concerns? Its very close relationship with Microsoft, which provides a “substantial portion of our financing and compute.”
This information comes after OpenAI secured a huge $110 billion in funding last month from big names like Amazon, Nvidia, and SoftBank. They’re also trying to get another $10 billion from other investors, aiming to close that deal by the end of March.
These highlighted risks give us a peek into what OpenAI might include when it officially files for an Initial Public Offering (IPO), which could happen as soon as this year. Besides Microsoft, OpenAI also pointed to huge spending on technology, relying heavily on computing power, ongoing legal battles with Elon Musk’s xAI, and its unique structure as a public benefit corporation.
OpenAI started as a non-profit research lab in 2015 but has grown incredibly fast since launching ChatGPT in late 2022. ChatGPT now has 900 million active users every week, and the company made $13.1 billion in revenue in 2025. Last month, investors valued the company at an astounding $730 billion.
Microsoft has been a key supporter since 2019, long before ChatGPT became famous. They even got OpenAI to agree to use Microsoft’s Azure cloud for some of its services exclusively. In total, Microsoft has put $13 billion into OpenAI. Back in October, Microsoft’s 27% stake in OpenAI’s for-profit arm was worth $135 billion.
In the document, OpenAI told investors that its future success depends on building relationships with other partners besides Microsoft. “If Microsoft changes or ends its partnership with us, or if we can’t find other business partners, our business and financial situation could be negatively affected,” the company wrote. OpenAI clarified that this is a standard legal disclosure and Microsoft remains a critical long-term partner.
Despite their close ties, OpenAI and Microsoft are also starting to compete in the booming AI market. Microsoft even added OpenAI to its list of competitors in its annual report in 2024. Last year, OpenAI also started using other cloud providers like CoreWeave, Google, and Oracle to handle its heavy demand.
Beyond Microsoft, OpenAI also noted other risks. They need massive amounts of computing power for their AI models, and a global chip shortage could hurt them. Specifically, they mentioned that if chip supplier TSMC is affected by a regional conflict, perhaps referring to tensions between China and Taiwan, OpenAI’s supply chain could face “severe disruptions.” The company also expects to keep spending a lot of money on computing, data centers, and related infrastructure with partners like Microsoft, Nvidia, AMD, and Broadcom.
Legal problems are another big concern. OpenAI warned investors about ongoing lawsuits related to copyright, patents, privacy, and other issues. They specifically mentioned three lawsuits filed by co-founder Elon Musk or his company, xAI. There are also at least 14 lawsuits from ChatGPT users or their families in California, claiming the company’s products caused “mental illness leading to suicide, death or other injury.” OpenAI stated they are reviewing these cases in light of their safeguards.
Interestingly, Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, is not named in the risk factors section. The company only broadly mentioned that its success relies on “Key Personnel,” without naming anyone specifically, despite Altman’s controversial temporary ousting in late 2023.
