Altman: OpenAI doesn’t want taxpayer support for AI spending

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman clarified on social media that the company does not seek or expect government guarantees for its data center projects.

Altman said that taxpayer funds should not be used to support private companies if they fail, and that market competition should determine outcomes.

He added that governments might consider building and owning their own AI infrastructure, with any benefits from such investments flowing back to the government.

Altman noted that OpenAI has discussed government loan guarantees only in the context of supporting US semiconductor manufacturing, but said the company has not formally applied for such programs.

OpenAI projects its annualized revenue run rate will be above US$20 billion by the end of 2025, and said it anticipates infrastructure commitments of about US$1.4 trillion over the next eight years.

Altman emphasized that OpenAI is investing heavily in computing power to meet expected demand and does not aim to become “too big to fail.”

He also said the company may raise additional equity or debt in the future to support its plans.

🔗 Source: Sam Altman

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

$1.4 trillion plan lacks clear funding and economics

OpenAI signed deals topping $1 trillion with Nvidia ($500 billion), Oracle ($300 billion), AMD ($270 billion) 1. Funding totals ~$140 billion from Nvidia and SoftBank (an investment conglomerate), 10% of ~$1.4 trillion spend 2.
OpenAI expects $155 billion in infrastructure cash burn 1. Forbes/Trefis (Trefis is a financial analysis firm) pegs annual recurring revenue at ~$13 billion, with 70% from ChatGPT premium users 2.
Forbes/Trefis says counterparty risk rises (the risk that a contract party cannot meet obligations) if OpenAI misses cash flow, leaving Amazon, Microsoft, or Oracle unpaid, market cap over $10 trillion 2.
DA Davidson analysts call CoreWeave, a specialized AI cloud provider, diversified by its $14 billion Meta deal, and warn that OpenAI’s backlog there looks speculative 1.

Active federal AI compute RFPs

DOE issued an RFP to design-finance-build AI data centers at Oak Ridge Reservation (a DOE campus in Tennessee) with specialized IT, cooling, plus on-site generation 3.
DOE will favor applicants with AI data center, advanced computing, or energy storage experience, and says consortia or partnerships may fit better 4.
NNSA issued an RFP at Savannah River Site (a DOE complex in South Carolina) spanning 3,103 acres across 10 tracts for proposals to integrate innovative energy generation and storage 5.
DOE released an RFA for long-term leases at Idaho National Laboratory (a DOE national lab in Idaho) for AI infrastructure with energy generation 6. Projects should be viable without direct government funding 6.