The deal with OpenAI proves that Oracle is successfully positioning itself as a major player in the AI infrastructure race. With its MultiCloud database revenues already growing by over 100% this financial year, the annual injection of an additional $30 billion in capital will enable the company to cement its position as the world’s leading builder and operator of cloud infrastructure data centers.
Oracle’s deal with OpenAI is a massive gamble. Since OpenAI’s payments will not kick in until 2028, Oracle will have to pay upfront for data centers and server upgrades on its own, a task made difficult by its large capital expenditures and strained cash flow. Oracle faces the risk that it cannot execute its part of the deal before its balance sheet is overwhelmed by the costs.