Data center stocks are at a crossroads as investors weigh whether the artificial intelligence boom can sustain its massive infrastructure spending. CNBC’s Jim Cramer says the answer now hinges on one company: OpenAI. Unless the ChatGPT maker raises substantial capital soon, he warns, the data center trade could remain under pressure — or even unravel further.
Speaking on Mad Money on Friday, Cramer argued that OpenAI must raise a large amount of cash quickly to meet its growing financial commitments, particularly to Oracle, one of its key infrastructure partners. “No matter what, OpenAI needs to raise a lot of money, and it needs to raise it now,” Cramer said. “Or else the whole data center edifice will go down and stay down.”
His comments come at a sensitive moment for the sector. Although AI stocks recovered slightly at the end of the week, as the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.31 percent on Friday, data center and infrastructure stocks have been experiencing weeks of selling. There has been a growing question among investors about whether hyperscalers and AI leaders can afford the huge capital investments needed to serve generative AI models.
Debt worries weigh on AI infrastructure
The recent pullback reflects broader concerns about debt, cash flow, and near-term profitability across the AI ecosystem. Companies building and operating large-scale data centers require billions of dollars upfront to fund land, power, cooling systems, and advanced chips. As interest rates remain elevated, financing those investments has become more expensive and more closely scrutinized.
Oracle, in particular, has drawn investor attention. The company raised $18 billion in bonds in September, marking one of the largest debt issuances ever by a technology firm. The move raised questions about how aggressively Oracle is funding its cloud and AI expansion — and how dependent it may be on customers like OpenAI to deliver returns.
Cramer pointed directly to OpenAI’s reported commitment to pay Oracle more than $300 billion over time for cloud and infrastructure services. While the long-term partnership underscores the scale of AI demand, it has also unsettled investors who worry about the timing of payments and the sustainability of spending.
“People started to get nervous,” Cramer said, suggesting that markets began to reassess the entire data center trade once Oracle’s debt issuance put a spotlight on funding risks.
OpenAI as the linchpin
Cramer believes OpenAI holds the key to restoring confidence. He contended that the AI chief must pounce when the iron is hot and raise up to $200 billion worth at a valuation of approximately 1 trillion. Such action, he said, would provide OpenAI with the necessary cash to meet its commitments and assure partners that it is still spending on infrastructure.
If OpenAI secures that funding, Cramer expects a ripple effect across the sector. Hyperscalers and cloud providers would feel more confident continuing their own capital investments, while data center operators and chipmakers could see renewed demand for their services.
“If that happens, other hyperscalers will have to keep spending,” Cramer said. “Then the data center stocks can take off.”
However, the opposite scenario carries significant downside. If OpenAI struggles to raise enough capital, investors could unwind recent gains across AI infrastructure names. “If OpenAI can’t raise enough money, then we just reverse everything we saw today, and we go back down,” Cramer warned.
Market skepticism grows
Cramer expressed cautious optimism that OpenAI can pull off a major funding round, but he also suggested the moment could test the company’s reputation and strategy. He described OpenAI as having “monster hubris,” adding that the current environment may force the company to prove its confidence is justified.
Even a smaller raise could help stabilize sentiment. Cramer said a $100 billion private round followed by a public offering next year could be enough to keep the data center theme alive, even if it falls short of his more ambitious target.
Still, investors appear divided. As AI stocks continue to be one of the best performing of the last two years, the market has become less assuasive about disregarding present financial pressure for the promise of future gains. The recent sell-off indicates that the interest in AI infrastructure is not unconditional anymore.
A broader reckoning for AI spending
The data center stock pressure is indicative of a larger re-evaluation of the rate at which AI investments can turn into profits. Firms in the tech industry have invested historic levels of money in GPUs, cloud storage, and dedicated centers to facilitate generative AI. Monetization is not balanced as demand is rising.
Other investors are now concerned that the AI buildout may exceed the real revenue growth, particularly in the event of a slowdown in economic activity or a reduction in enterprise spending. Such skepticism has increased markets sensitivity to the level of debt, funding strategies and balance sheets strength.
At the same time, many analysts believe the long-term case for AI infrastructure remains intact. Training and deploying advanced AI models requires enormous computing power, and that demand is unlikely to disappear. The question is whether companies can bridge the gap between today’s capital-intensive phase and future cash flows without straining their finances.
What investors are watching next
For now, attention remains firmly fixed on OpenAI. Any announcement of a major fundraising round could quickly shift sentiment across AI infrastructure stocks. Conversely, prolonged silence or signs of difficulty could deepen concerns.
Neither OpenAI nor Oracle immediately responded to requests for comment on Cramer’s remarks. Still, the market reaction suggests investors are listening closely.
In the coming months, funding decisions, debt levels, and capital discipline will likely play a bigger role in determining which AI-linked companies thrive — and which struggle. As Cramer sees it, the next chapter for data center stocks may depend less on technological breakthroughs and more on financial execution.
Until that clarity emerges, the sector may remain volatile, caught between belief in AI’s transformative power and growing caution over the price tag required to sustain it.