OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is reportedly setting his sights on a new frontier: the semiconductor industry. According to a Wall Street Journal report published on Thursday, Altman is engaged in conversations with investors, including those from the United Arab Emirates, to secure trillions in funding aimed at bolstering global production of chips specifically designed for AI technology.
This initiative could require raising as much as $5 trillion to $7 trillion, as per the report.
OpenAI, renowned for the language model ChatGPT, is reportedly seeking these funds to address possible limitations hindering its growth. A key concern, as reported by the WSJ, is the scarcity of AI chips specifically designed for training large language models.
The amounts Altman has discussed are outlandish by the standards of corporate fundraising, the report said.
Apart from funding, Altman reportedly sees a broader partnership of OpenAI with investors, chipmakers and power providers. They would put up the money together to build factories, which would then be operated by chipmakers.
Financial Times reported on Friday that the Microsoft-backed company hit $2 billion in revenue in December, citing sources. The ChatGPT maker believes it can more than