Sam Altman would like trillions of dollars, please

Sam Altman is really craving chips, but not the kind you’re stocking up on for the Super Bowl. As his company, OpenAI, hungers for semiconductors to power its AI models, Altman has been trying to raise as much as $7 trillion to expand global production capacity, WSJ reported this week.

Yes, we’re talking trillions—a herculean ambition given that just $527 billion worth of chips were sold globally last year. OpenAI has struggled to secure sufficient supply from chip designer Nvidia, which sells much of the microprocessors fueling the ongoing AI frenzy.

Seeking a helping hand

Altman wants to create OpenAI’s very own semiconductor supplier, but he can’t do it alone…

• The entrepreneur has reportedly tried to convince Silicon Valley VCs, government-affiliated investors in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the sharks at SoftBank to bankroll the venture.
• He’s also talking to chip behemoth Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company about establishing production facilities worldwide.

WaPo says he’s also been in contact with US lawmakers to discuss where to best build chip factories. Microprocessor availability has also been a major priority for Uncle Sam.

Zoom out: Microsoft and Alphabet are designing their own chips, while legacy chipmakers like Intel and Advanced Micro Devices vie to challenge Nvidia’s dominance in the AI space.