OPENAI CEO Sam Altman on Thursday called on governments to invest in AI infrastructure, amid growing doubts about whether the maker of ChatGPT, the world’s most valuable private company, can absorb the huge costs of artificial intelligence.
“We think it makes sense for governments to build (and own) their own AI infrastructure, but the benefits should flow to them as well,” Altman wrote in a lengthy post on X, clarifying OpenAI’s position amid increased scrutiny of the company’s ambitious spending plans.
The company behind ChatGPT has faced increased scrutiny after Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar said at a business conference on Wednesday that the U.S. government could help attract the huge investment needed in AI computing and infrastructure by guaranteeing loans for construction costs.
After intense criticism, the executive later retracted her statement, saying she had clumsily explained her claims, a point Altman reiterated in her own post.
“We do not have, and do not want, government guarantees for OpenAI data centers,” Altman wrote.
He added: “We believe that the government should not decide winners and losers, and that taxpayers should not bail out companies that have made poor business decisions or suffered market losses.”
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“If you fail and can’t fix it, you should fail and other companies will continue to do the good work.”
The comments come as OpenAI faces questions about its financial trajectory.
OpenAI has become a very important company, and the AI race started with the release of ChatGPT is pushing Wall Street to new records amid growing doubts about the broader health of the American economy.
Altman said the company expects annual revenue to reach more than US$20 billion this year, a significant achievement for a startup, and plans to spend about US$1.4 trillion on infrastructure over the next eight years.
This includes the US$300 billion partnership with Oracle announced at the White House in January and the US$500 billion Stargate project between Oracle and SoftBank.
He predicted that OpenAI’s revenue will grow to hundreds of billions of dollars by 2030, driven by yet-to-be-released consumer devices, robotics, and AI-powered scientific discoveries.
Altman argued that given the strategic importance of this technology, it makes sense for the government to build a “strategic national computing power reserve,” especially since large infrastructure projects take years to complete.
He warned that the risks of under-computing outweigh the risks of overbuilding, citing already tight computing constraints that have allowed OpenAI and its competitors to limit product availability and slow new features. AFP
