Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is reportedly trying to secure US government approval to set up a large artificial intelligence (AI) chip manufacturing enterprise. In addition, it was revealed that the Chairman of SoftBank, Masayoshi Son, who is known as a partner in this project, plans to invest $ 100 billion (about 134 trillion won) to establish an AI chip manufacturer.
Bloomberg reported on the 16th (local time) that CEO Sam Altman recently met with US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to ask for support for an AI chip initiative, and that the Commerce Department is holding internal discussions about the OpenAI plan to raise money in the Centre. East. Reported to be rough.
Altman has met with potential investors and partners in the US, the Middle East and Asia in recent weeks, telling some of them that the AI chip project cannot proceed without US government approval, according to people familiar with the matter. with the issue.
As is known, CEO Altman is pursuing a large-scale AI chip project costing up to $7 trillion (about KRW 9,300 trillion) to prepare for the explosive demand for AI. Following the UAE’s G42, Microsoft (MS), and Softbank, Samsung Electronics and SK also discussed this issue early this month. He is also known to have met with Intel and TSMC.
However, as planned, national security issues and monopoly issues are exposed in this process.
The fundraising campaign risks triggering a national security review of foreign investment by the US Treasury, and the Commerce Department has currently banned parts of the Middle East from technology exports.
In addition, if OpenAI succeeds in producing AI chips, it may be subject to an antitrust investigation by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or the Department of Justice. For this reason, Open AI believes it must first secure government approval.
“Given the importance of national priorities, we will continue to provide information to the US government and look forward to sharing more details in the future,” OpenAI said in a statement.
A spokesman for the Commerce Department said Raimondo was meeting with a variety of industry leaders and was not disclosing details of individual conversations. The FTC, Treasury and Justice Departments declined to comment.
Altman’s plans are said to be still fluid. We are meeting with various stakeholders and seeking their views to decide whether to focus on setting up a factory for chip production only, or proceed with a large-scale project to significantly reorganize AI chip production capabilities using a global manufacturing network wide Depending on the amount of the investment, the plan can change significantly.
(Photo = Shutterstock)
In addition, on this day, news emerged that the Chairman of SoftBank, Masayoshi Son, is also trying to invest $100 billion to establish an AI chip company.
Citing informed sources, Bloomberg said Chairman Son envisions an AI chip company that could complement ARM and replace Nvidia.
Of these, a scenario where SoftBank invests $30 billion and raises $70 billion from the Middle East is said to be under consideration. Chairman Son named this project ‘Izanagi,’ the god of creation in Japanese mythology.
It is known that Softbank, which has continued to invest aggressively in the AI field, has recently changed its strategy to ‘defensive investment’. In particular, it is analyzed that ARM, in which it invested, has grown explosively since its listing and is focused on building a manufacturing plant that will directly use ARM’s chip design technology.
Also, the source said this project is separate from the chip project discussed with CEO Altman.
Correspondent Lim Da-jun ydj@aitimes.com
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