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cailianshe news, september 4 (editor: liu rui)according to people familiar with the matter, sam altman, the "father of chatgpt" and ceo of openai, plans to convene global investors to build infrastructure to support the development of artificial intelligence.

currently, the plan is becoming clearer, with the focus first on launching it in various states in the united states, and it is expected to cost tens of billions of dollars.

altman seeks ai infrastructure plan

according to foreign media reports this year, as early as the beginning of this year, altman has been seeking us government support for the project, which aims to form a global investor alliance to fund the expensive infrastructure needed to support the rapid development of artificial intelligence.

now, altman and his team are working on some previously unreported details, including plans to target u.s. states first.

the types of projects being discussed includebuilding data centers, increasing energy capacity and transmission through turbines and generators, and expanding semiconductor manufacturing.

they said backers of the project could include investors from canada, south korea, japan and the united arab emirates.

openai also hopes that other private companies will get involved in the project. chatgpt’s largest investor, microsoft, could be one of the potential partners. in response to the news, microsoft said it is aware of and involved in all of the company’s infrastructure-related efforts.

openai executives mobilized

openai executives, including altman, have been meeting with investors in recent weeks to advance the deal, according to people familiar with the matter.

it was revealed that jason kwon, openai's chief strategy officer, had recently traveled to japan and south korea to discuss the plan with investors. chris lehane, openai's vice president of global policy, spoke with investors in canada. after the earlier talks, altman also held further talks with investors in the united arab emirates, people familiar with the matter said. he also talked with american investors.

meanwhile, openai is about to raise billions of dollars in funding, pushing the company's valuation to more than $100 billion. the deal is expected to be led by thrive capital, with participation from microsoft, apple, and nvidia.

when asked about its plans to boost infrastructure, a spokesperson for openai said they believe building more infrastructure in the u.s. is critical to further advancing ai and making it widely beneficial. they added: "we are considering this goal and look forward to sharing more details at a later date."

or cause national security concerns for the united states?

altman previously said that the united states urgently needs infrastructure to support artificial intelligence. altman said he is concerned about the current state of the united states' ai infrastructure, which is crucial to maintaining the united states' technological leadership.

in an op-ed in the washington post, he wrote: “american policymakers must work with the private sector to build out the vast amounts of physical infrastructure — from data centers to power plants — that will allow ai systems to operate.”

a person familiar with altman’s thinking said other companies besides openai would benefit from these infrastructure projects, as would countries allied with the u.s. supporters of the effort see the projects as creating jobs as an added benefit and complementing the chips and science act introduced by the biden administration.

but openai’s global ambitions could raise concerns among u.s. national security officials. in recent months, openai has held meetings with the national security council about the planned investment, according to people familiar with the matter.

in the talks, altman and other openai executives emphasized that the global infrastructure initiative would build a multinational alliance and help enhance the united states’ geopolitical advantage, according to a person familiar with the talks.