OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, has ambitious plans to spend trillions of dollars on building the infrastructure needed to develop and run artificial intelligence services. Speaking to reporters recently, Altman said this massive investment will come in the “not very distant future,” though the challenge lies in finding new ways to raise such huge amounts of money.
Altman hinted that OpenAI is working on creating a novel financial tool to fund these costs—something the world hasn’t seen before. Earlier this year, he joined heavy hitters like SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son and Oracle’s Larry Ellison at the White House to announce Stargate, a $500 billion, four-year project aimed at AI infrastructure. But Altman expects OpenAI’s spending to far exceed this initiative.
During an informal dinner conversation with the press, Altman also touched on other topics including ChatGPT’s fast growth, efforts to improve chat privacy through encryption, and OpenAI’s interest in buying the Chrome browser, should the U.S. government force Google to sell it.
He compared the current AI investment boom to the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s. In both cases, smart investors got very excited about new technology. He believes AI, like the internet back then, is a real and important innovation that will leave a lasting impact on business and society. That said, Altman warned some startups are overvalued right now and that some investors might face losses.
Altman himself played a big role in sparking today’s AI frenzy. OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT in late 2022 pushed many companies to spend billions on hiring talent and building the hardware needed for AI work. Despite the huge costs, Altman sees big profits ahead for OpenAI and says investing heavily now makes perfect sense.
Part of the funding plan could include taking OpenAI public someday, although Altman didn’t say when this might happen. He admitted, though, that he might not be the best fit as the CEO of a public company. The organization is currently undergoing a corporate restructuring to prepare for future steps.
Altman also addressed the rocky launch of GPT-5 last week. After much hype, the update left many users confused or unhappy, with some disliking changes to the AI’s style or the removal of older versions they preferred. OpenAI has since issued fixes and apologized for the missteps. Altman acknowledged mistakes in the rollout, especially given how attached many users have become to these AI products.
Overall, Altman is confident that the effort to invest heavily in AI won’t be regretted by society, even if some individual investors face setbacks. The race to develop advanced AI is moving fast, and OpenAI wants to be at the front, no matter the cost.