Sam Altman Aims to Secure Up to USD7 Trillion for AI Semiconductor Initiative

According to reports from the Wall Street Journal, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is looking to secure as much as $7 trillion to boost production of the semiconductor chips needed to advance the AI industry.

Altman is currently talking with the government of the UAE to find the cash he needs to get the project going.

While the capital being sought is estimated to be as much as $7 trillion, the exact figure has not been confirmed. Whether $7 trillion or less, the amounts being discussed highlight the amount of investment Altman believes is needed to fix the challenges holding back AI companies, including OpenAI.

Recently, on X, Altman restated his views that there is a massive need for improvements in AI infrastructure, including production facilities, energy resources, and data centers, beyond what is currently anticipated. He emphasized the need for creating a robust supply chain to maintain economic competitiveness.

Altman's focus on chips is not new, as before his short hiatus as OpenAI's CEO, he tried to raise billions, partly from the Middle East, for a then-embryonic chip venture, "Tigris," to rival Nvidia. In 2018, he also made a personal investment in Rain Neuromorphics, and a year later, OpenAI agreed to invest a further $51 million in Rain's chips. The United States later forced a venture capital firm backed by Saudi Aramco to divest its shares in Rain.

Nvidia has benefitted massively from interest in generative AI over the past year, with its market cap more than tripling. With almost 80% of the AI chip market and a market cap of around $1.78 trillion, Nvidia has seen its GPUs become the foundation of large language models developed by OpenAI and other tech leaders. Altman's initiative could potentially redistribute this market dominance.

OpenAI's ChatGPT has been heavily dependent on Nvidia chips due to a lack of alternatives since its launch in 2022.

The platform's extraordinary growth, achieving over 100 million weekly active users very quickly and gaining widespread adoption among Fortune 500 companies, signifies the impact AI is having.

After being ousted from the company, Altman rode a wave of support from employees and investors, including Microsoft, that resulted in his rapid reinstatement. He was one of the initial board members at the founding of OpenAI along with Elon Musk.

Following his return, OpenAI overhauled its board and brought former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor and ex-Treasury Secretary Larry Summers on board. With Microsoft securing a nonvoting role on the board, OpenAI is set to expand its influence and capabilities in the AI and semiconductor sector.