Sam Altman to raise $7tn to make super AI chips in 'wildly ambitious tech initiative'

OpenAI Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sam Altman is in talks with various officials including the government of United Arab Emirates, to raise billions of dollars, to increase the world's ability to build cutting-edge semiconductors and fuel artificial intelligence AI.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, Altman's "wildly ambitious tech initiative" would need to raise nearly $7 trillion, Fox News reported.

As part of his pitch to investors, Altman has suggested constructing hundreds of semiconductor foundries, which would thereafter be managed by already-established chip manufacturers like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

He plans to solve issues that hinder OpenAI’s growth, such as the scarcity of semiconductors that power AI models such as ChatGPT.

According to the report, Altman has been meeting with different high officials, such as SoftBank’s chief executive Masayoshi Son, TSMC executives, and United States Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.

While numerous countries have announced plans to support domestic semiconductor production, global supply is still dominated by a handful of firms, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and California-based NVIDIA.

A spokesperson from OpenAI said that they've had "productive discussions about increasing global infrastructure and supply chains and would share more details at a later date."

Altman, with his visionary approach, has made a name for himself in the field of AI and has become one of the most recognised faces.

In November, the 38-year-old entrepreneur was fired from the start-up he co-founded, only to be reinstated several days later after protests by employees and investors.