OpenAI wanted independence from NVIDIA - Altman is looking for investors to release its own AI chips
In order to implement this ambitious project, Altman has already spoken with leading investors from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), including Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, one of the most influential and wealthy people in Abu Dhabi. The project under discussion involves the development and production of chips needed to train and operate AI models. According to sources, Altman also held talks with TSMC about cooperation in chip production. Samsung and Intel act as backup contract manufacturers.
Sheikh Tahnoun, the younger brother of the UAE leader and his national security adviser, controls a rapidly expanding business empire and chairs the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), whose assets are valued at approximately $800 billion, and the Abu Dhabi Sovereign Wealth Fund ( ADQ). He also heads International Holding Company, the UAE's largest publicly traded company, and G42, an ambitious AI company already working with Microsoft and OpenAI.
The search for investment in the East is not surprising, because the development and production of microcircuits is an extremely expensive process that requires significant investment. While the exact amount of investment Altman intends to raise has not been disclosed, it is estimated that he will need billions of dollars to compete with NVIDIA, whose market capitalization is already approaching $1.5 trillion.
The sector of AI systems and AI chips themselves has become extremely hot over the past year, with NVIDIA graphics processing units (GPUs) being a key element of the sustainability of this industry and being in high demand among technology companies both in Silicon Valley and elsewhere.
AI developers like OpenAI use thousands of compute accelerators to train and run their large AI language models. OpenAI is currently working on creating a new version of its AI model, which is expected to be released this year and will be a major update to its current GPT-4 model. Each new neural network update increases OpenAI's dependence on chip manufacturers, especially NVIDIA, which is the largest supplier of AI chips.
It was these circumstances that prompted Sam Altman to find investors to develop and produce his own microcircuits. However, it remains unclear whether the new venture will operate as a subsidiary of OpenAI or as a separate company. However, according to information from knowledgeable sources, the main client of the new chipmaker will be OpenAI itself.
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April was full of new initiatives from vendors as well as some fascinating news on the technology front. With Olympics in Paris approaching, more news will be flowing in from the capital of France.
My profession, the role of CIO, unfortunately means that sometimes I come to a company to replace another CIO. Presumably, the previous CIO did not suit the company, and they decided to replace him or her.