OpenAI's Altman in talks to raise funds for chips, AI initiative
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is in talks with investors, including the UAE, to raise funds for a tech initiative to boost the world's chip-building capacity and expand its ability to power AI, among other things, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The project could require raising as much as $5 trillion to $7 trillion, the report added, citing people familiar with the matter. OpenAI and its biggest investor Microsoft did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Altman's fundraising plans are aimed at solving constraints to OpenAI's growth, including the scarcity of artificial intelligence (AI) chips required to train large language models behind systems such as ChatGPT, the WSJ reported. The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) has forecast a 13.1% jump in global chip sales to $595.3 billion this year, compared with a drop of about 8% in sales in 2023. The amounts Altman has discussed are outlandishly large by the standa...