OpenAI's Sam Altman Embarks on Global Fundraising Tour for Massive AI Infrastructure Expansion

OpenAI's Altman seeks funds for infrastructure expansion on Asia, Middle East tour, WSJ reports

Oct 4 (Reuters) - OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has embarked on a global fundraising initiative spanning East Asia and the Middle East, seeking financing and manufacturing partners to meet the company's demand for its computing capacity, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing sources familiar with the meetings. Altman has held discussions since late September in Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan with major suppliers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (2330.TW), opens new tab, Foxconn, Samsung (005930.KS), opens new tab, and SK Hynix (000660.KS), opens new tab to boost AI chip production and secure top-priority orders for OpenAI, the report said. Altman was pushing these companies to increase production capacity and give priority to OpenAI's orders, the newspaper added. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Microsoft, TSMC, Foxconn, Samsung and SK Hynix couldn't immediately respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours. Earlier this week, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix had signed letters of intent to supply memory chips for OpenAI's data centers. Altman has planned to visit investors in the United Arab Emirates to raise money to help fund OpenAI's infrastructure expansion and research, WSJ said. OpenAI recently told its investors and business partners that it was likely to spend around $16 billion in renting computing servers this year, and that the expenditure could rise to around $400 billion in 2029, the report added, citing people familiar with the matter. Reporting by Dheeraj Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Alexandra Hudson Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

OpenAI's Altman seeks funds for infrastructure expansion on Asia, Middle East tour, WSJ reports

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is reportedly seeking global financing and manufacturing partners across East Asia and the Middle East to meet the company's computing capacity demands. He has held discussions with major suppliers like TSMC, Foxconn, Samsung, and SK Hynix since late September to boost AI chip production and secure priority orders for OpenAI. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has embarked on a global fundraising initiative spanning East Asia and the Middle East, seeking financing and manufacturing partners to meet the company's demand for its computing capacity, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing sources familiar with the meetings. Altman has held discussions since late September in Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan with major suppliers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Foxconn, Samsung , and SK Hynix to boost AI chip production and secure top-priority orders for OpenAI, the Wall Street Journal said. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

OpenAI's Sam Altman Turns To Asia, Middle East For Funds Amid Multitrillion-Dollar Push To Build Next-Gen Data Centers - NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), Hon Hai Precision (OTC:HNHPF)

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has launched an ambitious international campaign to secure chips, manufacturing partners, and financing across Asia and the Middle East to fuel the company's multitrillion-dollar expansion of AI infrastructure. Altman Pushes East Asian Chip Manufacturers To Ramp Up Production Since late September, Altman has traveled to Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan, reported The Wall Street Journal. Altman also plans to visit the United Arab Emirates to raise money. He met with major tech companies, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (NYSE:TSM), Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd. (OTC:HNHPF), known globally as Foxconn, Samsung Electronics Co. (OTC:SSNLF), SK Hynix, and Hitachi. Sources familiar with the meetings said Altman pressed these suppliers, many linked to Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA), to increase production capacity and prioritize OpenAI's orders. "Our vision is simple: we want to create a factory that can produce a gigawatt of new AI infrastructure every week," Altman wrote in a recent blog post. Middle East Funding Tour Aims To Boost OpenAI's AI Data Center Expansion Altman also plans to visit the UAE to meet investors, including Abu Dhabi's Mubadala and MGX funds, to raise money for new data centers, including the Stargate facility. The company recently announced plans to deploy at least 10 gigawatts of Nvidia computing systems and open five new U.S. data centers in partnership with companies such as Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) and SoftBank Group Corp. (OTC:SFTBY) (OTC:SFTBF). The urgency comes as global chip supply chains struggle to keep pace with surging demand for AI services. OpenAI has indicated it may spend $16 billion on renting servers this year, with projections rising to $400 billion by 2029. Its memory-chip needs alone could exceed global high-bandwidth memory capacity. See Also: Mitch McConnell Says Trump Tariffs-Ushered Era Has 'Similarities' With The 1930s: 'This Is The Most Dangerous Period Since Before World War Two' OpenAI's Trillion-Dollar AI Expansion And Infrastructure Plans In August, Altman said people should expect OpenAI to spend trillions of dollars on AI infrastructure, comparing today's investment to the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s. The company would need significant capital to advance AI, acknowledging that economists might criticize the spending, but stating that OpenAI intended to move forward. Altman also mentioned that the startup was exploring new financial instruments to fund its projects. OpenAI planned an $850 billion expansion, building data centers that could consume as much energy as 17 nuclear facilities. Altman described the scale as ambitious but possibly too slow given rapid AI adoption, noting the infrastructure could power over 13 million American homes. Partnerships with Oracle, NVIDIA, and SoftBank supported the plan, with each data center costing around $50 billion. Altman defended the expenditure, emphasizing the need for extensive supercomputing networks. He also highlighted AI's potential to surpass human intelligence in the near future, predicting that by 2030, AI could perform tasks humans cannot, including scientific discoveries. Addressing fears of AI turning hostile, Altman stressed the importance of aligning AI with human values, saying it would act as a powerful tool rather than a threat to humanity. Read Next: Amazon Will Pay $2.5 Billion In FTC Lawsuit -- One Of The Largest Settlements In History Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo courtesy: jamesonwu1972/Shutterstock HNHPFHon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd$14.46-2.17%OverviewNVDANVIDIA Corp$187.66-0.65%ORCLOracle Corp$285.50-1.14%SFTBFSoftBank Group Corp$107.63-17.4%SFTBYSoftBank Group Corp$67.041.41%SSNLFSamsung Electronics Co Ltd$42.480.34%TSMTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd$292.171.41%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs