The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is in talks with investors, including the UAE, to gather cash for a tech effort aimed at increasing the world’s chip-building capacity and expanding its potential to fuel AI.
According to those acquainted with the topic, the project might cost between $5 trillion and $7 trillion to fund.
Reuters’ inquiries for comment were not immediately responded to by OpenAI or its biggest investor, Microsoft (MSFT.O).
Altman’s financing plans aim to address obstacles to OpenAI’s expansion, such as a lack of artificial intelligence (AI) processors needed to train big language models for systems like ChatGPT, according to the WSJ.
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) forecasts a 13.1% increase in worldwide chip sales to $595.3 billion this year, compared to an 8% reduction in sales in 2023.
According to the report, the amounts Altman has referenced are very substantial in terms of corporate fundraising.
Investors have valued OpenAI at more than $80 billion.
Sam Altman is pitching a partnership between OpenAI, investors, chip makers, and power providers to build chip foundries that would then be run by chip makers, according to the report, adding that much of the effort could be funded by debt and that the discussions are still in the early stages.
Furthermore, Microsoft-backed OpenAI is developing agent software to automate difficult activities by taking over a user’s device, according to The Information, citing a source familiar with the situation.
According to the report, the agent software would manage web-based duties such as acquiring public data on a group of companies, establishing itineraries, and purchasing aircraft tickets.
The new assistants, also referred to as “agents,” promise to do more sophisticated personal and job activities when instructed by a human, without requiring constant supervision.
OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In late 2022, the business introduced the ChatGPT chatbot, which popularised generative AI with its capacity to produce sonnets and emails.
In addition, Google renamed its Bard chatbot after the new artificial intelligence that powers it, Gemini, and said that people can pay for improved reasoning capabilities as it competes with Microsoft for subscriptions.
According to the Alphabet subsidiary, US clients can subscribe for $19.99 per month to have access to Gemini Advanced, which contains a more powerful Ultra 1.0 AI model.
