Oof, that's brutal.
From Tom's Hardware, September 26:
Scale of Sam Altman’s proposed investment plans considered ‘absurd
Last winter, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took a whirlwind tour of the Far East, meeting high-powered execs from companies like TSMC, Samsung, and SK Hynix. Apparently, hhe didn't make the best first impression. According to a report in the New York Times, senior TSMC execs dubbed the OpenAI chief a “podcasting bro” after the meeting(s), following his absurd requests for 36 new chipmaking plants that would cost an astounding $7 trillion. The NYT claims it discussed OpenAI's negotiations with nine people close to the discussions who wish to remain anonymous.
Altman used his multi-stop trip to pitch his plans to progress AI, involving Asia's manufacturing muscle, Middle Eastern money, and U.S. regulators. The NYT sources say the scale of investment would be in trillions of dollars – similar in size to a quarter of U.S. annual output. Recent OpenAI statements have rolled back such talk to "mere" hundreds of billions, however. It is reported that years of construction time would also be needed to satisfy the OpenAI compute scaling plans.
Moonshot dreams crash to earth at TSMC
The OpenAI CEO is noted for his ambition. Perhaps Altman is right to have an abundance of confidence in his vision and moonshot-style plans after taking just a few years to become one of the most influential names in tech. Nevertheless, his plans have allegedly not stirred confidence in the hard-nosed execs at TSMC....
....MUCH MORE
Some of our posts on the big ask:
"Watch Out Nvidia: OpenAI (ChatGPT) Wants To Raise $5 To $7 Trillion For Chips"
Huh....
From Holland's (think ASML) Bits&Chips - OpenAI: "7 trillion dollars of artificial insanity"
AI: "What If Sam Altman Isn't Actually That Talented...."
Possibly related, December 30, 2023:
"I Saw the Face of God in a Semiconductor Factory