OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has initiated discussions with investors to secure between $5 trillion and $7 trillion for an ambitious chip manufacturing project, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing sources.
The initiative aims to advance global semiconductor production and expand its potential in the artificial intelligence sector.
The project also seeks to address the shortage of expensive chips that OpenAI requires for training large language models.
Negotiations are in the early stages, and the full list of investors remains unknown. Sources indicate that Altman has discussed the initiative with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, UAE authorities, Taiwan’s TSMC, and Japan’s Softbank, which owns chip developer Arm.
During the talks, he is reportedly proposing a partnership among investors, processor manufacturers, and energy suppliers to jointly fund the construction of factories. OpenAI would become a major customer of these facilities, according to WSJ.
Sources noted that Altman has shared his plans with one of the AI company’s largest investors, Microsoft, which is said to support his efforts.
At the end of 2023, media reported that OpenAI was negotiating a new funding round that could value the company at $100 billion or more.
Earlier in February 2024, journalists learned that the company is developing a system of autonomous AI assistants capable of taking over user device management to perform specific tasks.