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laweijfmvoyesterday at 10:35 PM6 repliesview on HN

why does the article used words like burn and incinerate, implying that OpenAI is somehow making money disappear or something? They’re spending it; someone is profiting here, even if it’s not OpenAI. Is it all Nvidia?


Replies

zapharyesterday at 10:38 PM

Because that's normal language idioms in financial analysis reporting?

popalchemistyesterday at 10:42 PM

Because typically one expect a return on investment with that level of spending. Not only have they run at a loss for years, their spending is expected to increase, with no path to profitability in sight.

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lexicalityyesterday at 10:55 PM

I suspect most of it is going to utilities for power, water and racking.

That being said, if I was Sam Altman I'd also be stocking up on yachts, mansions and gold plated toilets while the books are still private. If there's $10bn a year in outgoings no one's going to notice a million here and there.

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simonwyesterday at 10:45 PM

Your burn is the money you spend that exceeds the money you earn, see also "burn rate".

wat10000yesterday at 10:45 PM

“Burn rate” is a standard financial term for how much money a startup is losing. If you have $1 cash on hand and a burn rate of $2 a year, then you have six months before you either need to get profitable, raise more money, or shut down.

nutjob2yesterday at 11:53 PM

> They’re spending it

That's what the words mean in this context.