In addition to generative AI, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has another major ambition: mobilizing billions of USD to reshape the global semiconductor industry.

According to The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI’s CEO is negotiating with investors to fund a highly ambitious technology initiative aimed at enhancing the world’s chip manufacturing capacity, expanding energy supply for AI, among other things. Those familiar with the matter say the project could require raising anywhere from 5 trillion to 7 trillion USD.

The fundraising plans aim to address constraints on OpenAI’s development, including the scarcity of expensive AI chips needed to train large language models like ChatGPT. Altman often complains that there aren’t enough of these chips – called graphics processing units or GPUs – to support OpenAI’s overarching pursuit of human-level artificial intelligence, defined as systems smarter than humans.

Such an investment would elevate the current scale of the global semiconductor industry. Global chip sales amounted to 527 billion USD last year and are projected to reach 1 trillion USD annually by 2030. Sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment – the pricey machinery needed to operate chip fabrication plants – totaled 100 billion USD last year, according to semiconductor trade group SEMI estimates.

The amount Altman is discussing would also be enormously large by corporate fundraising standards – larger than the national debts of some major economies worldwide and larger than giant national investment funds.

According to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, U.S. corporate debt issuance totaled 1.44 trillion USD last year. The combined market capitalization of Microsoft and Apple, the two most valuable U.S. companies, is about 6 trillion USD.

The fundraising talks are the latest example of Altman’s ambitious plans to try to change the world. In addition to launching a comprehensive AI revolution in late 2022 with OpenAI’s release of ChatGPT – an initial step in the effort to build human-level intelligence – Altman has invested heavily in startups to create cheap energy from nuclear fusion reactions and extend human lifespan.

Energy is also a significant factor in Altman’s new fundraising plan because AI facilities consume vast amounts of electricity.

Realizing the chip ambition and other necessary fields to support AI would require persuading a complex global network spanning sponsors, industry partners, and governments, including getting buy-in from the U.S., where the semiconductor industry is a strategic priority. Altman has met with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and discussed the initiative, according to people familiar with the matter.

An OpenAI spokesperson said, “OpenAI has had effective discussions on enhancing global infrastructure and supply chains for chips, energy, and data centers – crucial things for AI and AI-reliant industries. We will continue to communicate to the U.S. government about the importance of national priorities and would like to share more details at a later date.”

As part of the negotiations, Altman is proposing a collaborative relationship among OpenAI, various investors, chip manufacturers, and different energy suppliers, who would collectively put up money to build chip fabrication plants that would then be operated by existing chip manufacturers, some said. OpenAI would agree to become a major customer of the new factories. The discussions are in their early stages, the full list of potential investors isn’t known, and the effort could take years and ultimately may not succeed.

Concerns about chip supply and the electricity needed to run it are growing amid the feverish demand for artificial intelligence. AI chips have also become part of a geopolitical battleground between the U.S. and China.

In recent weeks, Altman has met with several partners in his effort, particularly Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed al Nahyan of the U.A.E. He is the UAE’s top security official, the brother of UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan, who oversees a rapidly growing financial portfolio and chairs several Abu Dhabi-owned sovereign wealth fund divisions.

Altman also met with Masayoshi Son, CEO of SoftBank, and representatives from chip manufacturing companies including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, also known as TSMC, to discuss joint ventures.

In negotiations with TSMC, Altman stated that he aims to build dozens of chip manufacturing plants in the coming years. His vision is to raise funds from Middle Eastern investors and rely on TSMC to construct and operate them.

Bloomberg previously reported Altman’s discussions with Middle Eastern investors and SoftBank regarding a chip business project. The Financial Times also previously reported Altman’s conversations with Sheikh Tahnoun and TSMC.

Until now, OpenAI has developed AI technology using computing resources from partner Microsoft, a company recently valued at over $3 trillion, in part due to investor enthusiasm for AI efforts and its relationship with OpenAI.

Microsoft recognizes OpenAI’s efforts to fundraise for expanding chip capacity. Altman shared his plans with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Chief Technology Officer Kevin Scott.

One of the key questions Altman faces is where to build the new chip manufacturing plants. He favors the United States, where the Biden administration is expected to provide billions of dollars in subsidies to TSMC and other major chip manufacturers in the coming weeks to sponsor new factories.

But those companies face challenges when expanding in the United States. TSMC is a typical example encountering issues such as delays, skilled labor shortages, and high costs in its $40 billion project in Arizona.

Source: vneconomy.vn