The demand for AI computing power isn't stopping at all, as Sam Altman reveals rather "shady" plans to acquire up to a million AI chips moving in the future.
OpenAI's Sam Altman Eyes to Buy Chips Worth Trillions of Dollars & Would Gobble Up Energy Worth 75% of UK's Production
There's no stopping the AI train right now, since it is racing to new levels with each passing day. We have heard companies like Microsoft, Google, and Meta building up large-scale AI clusters, but despite that, organizations still report a lack of computing capabilities. OpenAI seems to be facing a similar situation, as Sam Altman claims that he has massive plans ahead, part of which includes acquiring a whopping one million AI chips. While the statement does seem a bit far-fetched, nothing seems impossible for OpenAI and its elite AI team.
OpenAI's CEO is known for his hilarious investment figures. Just a few months ago, Altman was running around the world, raising trillions of dollars to build his network of chip facilities, but the project is nowhere to be seen for now. Even if, for some reason, OpenAI needs the power of 100 million AI chips, the firm needs trillions of dollars in capital on board, which is worth almost what NVIDIA is currently valued for. So, getting such a high count of AI chips seems impossible for now, but considering that GW-level AI clusters are starting to become a lot more common now, we cannot rule it out entirely.
Interestingly, I decided to calculate the energy needed to power up 100 million AI GPUs. If we consider that each chip is rated to run at 750W, that puts it up to a 75 GW cluster, which constantly accounts for 75% of the UK’s entire grid capacity. Unless, for some reason, OpenAI manages to get its hands on nuclear plants, it will still need 75 nuclear reactors, so good luck to Altman in scaling up towards a 100 million AI chip count. It seems like the industry thinks that racking up AI clusters would lead them to AGI, which is why the focus is towards getting a massive count of AI chips.
There's no doubt that companies are involved in the race for AI infrastructure; with that, they are ready to spend hundreds of billions. The AI CapEx for Big Tech keeps growing, and it's safe to say that companies like NVIDIA are in for a treat.
About the author: Muhammad Zuhair is a hardware and technology reporter for Wccftech, specializing in the semiconductor industry and the complex interplay between technology, manufacturing, and geopolitics. His coverage focuses on the corporate strategies and technological roadmaps of industry giants like TSMC, NVIDIA, Samsung, and Intel. Zuhair's expertise lies in deconstructing complex topics such as fabrication nodes (e.g., 2nm process), the economic impact of policies like the CHIPS Act, and the strategic development of AI infrastructure from NVIDIA, AMD and Intel.
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