(Reuters) – OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is in talks with investors, including in the UAE, to raise funds for technology initiatives to, among other things, strengthen global chip manufacturing capacity and expand its ability to power AI, Wall Street said. The Journal reported Thursday.
The report added that the project could require as much as $5 trillion to $7 trillion in financing, citing people familiar with the matter.
OpenAI and its largest investor Microsoft did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Altman’s funding plan is aimed at solving constraints to OpenAI’s growth, including a lack of artificial intelligence (AI) chips needed to train large language models behind systems like ChatGPT. WSJ reported.
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) expects global chip sales to rise 13.1% this year to $595.3 billion, but sales in 2023 will decline by about 8%.
The amounts discussed by Mr. Altman were unusually high by corporate financing standards, the report added.
Investors value OpenAI at more than $80 billion.
As part of the talks, Altman is proposing a partnership between OpenAI, investors, chip makers and power companies, according to the report, in which the companies would pool their money to build a chip foundry run by the chip makers. He added that there is. The effort could be financed by debt, and discussions are in the early stages.
(Reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aichi)
