Sam Altman's $1.4 Trillion Vision: Inside OpenAI's Ambitious Scale-Up Plan Following Microsoft Deal

Altman has transformed OpenAI from a nonprofit research organization into a $500 billion powerhouse.

San Francisco:

After ChatGPT's public release in late 2022, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared a bold vision with employees, declaring that OpenAI could soon become "the most important company in the history of Silicon Valley," according to two former employees who witnessed his statement.

While ambition runs deep in the tech industry, with Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon's Jeff Bezos speaking of world transformation and Tesla's Elon Musk targeting Mars colonization, Altman's vision appears particularly audacious.

Following Tuesday's deal with Microsoft that removes fundraising constraints, Altman unveiled even more ambitious plans for expanding AI infrastructure to meet growing demand.

During a Tuesday livestream, Altman committed to developing 30 gigawatts of computing resources at a cost of $1.4 trillion. He expressed his aspiration for OpenAI to eventually add 1 gigawatt of computing power weekly—a staggering goal considering each gigawatt currently requires over $40 billion in capital investment. Altman suggested capital costs might eventually decrease by half, though he didn't elaborate on how.

"AI is a sport of kings," noted Gil Luria, an analyst at DA Davidson. "Altman understands that to compete in AI, he will need to achieve a much bigger scale than OpenAI currently operates at."

Yet Altman has provided few specifics on how he intends to realize his grandest visions.

Altman previously mentioned exploring various creative financing options. OpenAI has established unusual, seemingly circular arrangements with public companies like Nvidia, drawing criticism that these deals create an illusion of unrealistic growth and potentially contributing to an AI bubble.

In January, Altman visited the White House to announce Stargate, a $500 billion AI infrastructure project involving Oracle, SoftBank, Nvidia, and cloud provider CoreWeave.

Standing beside US President Donald Trump, whom he had previously criticized as "irresponsible," Altman claimed the initiative would generate hundreds of thousands of jobs, adding, "We wouldn't be able to do this without you, Mr. President."

At that time, Altman said Stargate would build 10 GW of data center capacity, which according to Tuesday's comments has now tripled.

These plans represent just the beginning, according to Altman. To support such massive investment, he stated, "eventually we need to get to hundreds of billions a year in revenue."

This would require OpenAI—expected to reach an annual run rate of $20 billion in revenue by year-end—to grow tenfold from its current pace.

ChatGPT ignited the AI boom, forcing major tech companies to invest billions to remain competitive. Under Altman's leadership, OpenAI has evolved from a nonprofit dedicated to AI research into a $500 billion enterprise aiming to develop AI systems powerful enough to fundamentally transform society.

Altman, who briefly considered running for California governor in 2017, holds no equity in OpenAI and earns just $76,000 annually from the company. His wealth primarily derives from investments in major tech companies like Stripe and Airbnb, plus recent stakes in startups capitalizing on the AI boom that OpenAI sparked.

Even in his twenties, Altman demonstrated extraordinary potential. In 2008, Y Combinator founder Paul Graham described the then 23-year-old: "You could parachute him into an island full of cannibals and come back in five years and he'd be the king."

Altman, now 40, succeeded Graham as the startup accelerator's president in 2014.

Tuesday's restructuring announcement, coupled with Altman's indication that an initial public offering is OpenAI's most likely path forward, suggests he's preparing to finance his ambitious vision.

In pursuing his goals, Altman has made some adversaries, including billionaire Elon Musk, an OpenAI co-founder and early backer who departed in 2018.

Musk has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging the company has deviated from its nonprofit mission of developing AI for humanity's benefit. He has also criticized the Stargate project for lacking adequate funding.

This spring, several former OpenAI employees supported Musk's lawsuit, arguing that Altman couldn't be trusted to prioritize public safety over profits.

Two years ago, Altman was briefly removed from OpenAI after a board dispute, only to be reinstated days later.

This episode will be depicted in an upcoming Hollywood film, "Artificial," scheduled for release next year. According to IMDb, actor Andrew Garfield, who portrayed Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin in "The Social Network," will play Altman.