Sam Altman's chip project: he wants trillions
New reports say OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is seeking up to USD 7 trillion to fund his plan to create a new network of advanced chip manufacturers.
Last month the industry was rocked by news that the world's leading AI company, OpenAI, was talking to investors about building a new network of semiconductor fabrication plants. According to Fortune, Sam Altman launched the plan to guarantee the future supply of advanced chips, which are in huge demand from the AI space.
Altman met with Abu Dhabi-based G42 and SoftBank Group, and later with major South Korean chip companies. Now, fresh reporting by the WSJ has revealed the eye-popping scale of Altman’s fundraising ambitions. It says the project could cost between USD 5 trillion and USD 7 trillion. There are no more details than this, and OpenAI declined to comment.
But the extraordinary numbers reflect the ambition of the project and the sheer cost (but also potential reward) of the processing needed to power AI applications, LLMs and other advanced computing solutions.