OpenAI’s Sam Altman willing to pour trillions of dollars into AI infrastructure

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman said the company is prepared to invest trillions of dollars over time in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure if it can design a new way to finance such massive spending.

Altman told Bloomberg that OpenAI aims to build large-scale data centers in the near future. While some economists may see the move as “risky” or “reckless,” he insisted that nothing would deter the company from pursuing the plan.

“I suspect we can design a very interesting new kind of financial instrument for finance and compute that the world has not yet figured out,” Altman told Bloomberg. “We’re working on it.”


Stargate delays

There have been reports about Stargate, the joint initiative between SoftBank and OpenAI, being hit by delays. The project, backed by top tech companies, was announced in January with plans to deploy $100 billion immediately and scale up to $500 billion over four years to build AI infrastructure in the US. However, fundraising has yet to begin.

US President Donald Trump highlighted billions of dollars of private-sector investment flowing into AI infrastructure. Around the same time, OpenAI was close to finalising a $40 billion funding round led by SoftBank, with backing from Magnetar Capital, Coatue Management, Founders Fund, and Altimeter Capital.

Also Read: ETtech Explainer: Behind Trump’s $500-billion ‘Stargate’ bid for AI supremacy

‘No regrets’ on AI investments

Altman underscored the importance of pushing ahead with AI, saying investments in advanced technology will have “lasting impacts on the business world and society.” He added that society is unlikely to regret pouring money into the sector. “It’s very rational for us to keep investing right now,” he said.

Still, he cautioned that startup valuations remain “insane” and fuelled by “irrational behavior,” predicting inevitable losses for some investors.