OpenAI execs have been fielding plenty of questions about how they expect to pay for the $1.4 trillion worth of data center build-outs and usage commitments they’ve accrued this year, given that their revenue — while rising rapidly — is a $20 billion annual run rate, CEO Sam Altman said Thursday in a post on X.

Altman’s comments came in response to comments made by Open AI CFO Sarah Friar — which she quickly walked back. Speaking at a Wall Street Journal event on Wednesday, Friar said she wanted the US government to “backstop” her company’s infrastructure loans. This, she explained, would make the company’s loans cheaper and help ensure it could always be using the latest, greatest chip.

A backstopped loan is when the government guarantees it so if the company defaults, taxpayers pick

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