What Sam Altman’s $7 Trillion Dream Means for Us
Mark Zuckerberg: “I don’t think he’s crazy”
The man who played a huge role in moms and dads across the world asking, “Dear, what’s the difference between ChatGPT and Google?” is now setting his sights even higher. He’s trying to raise $7 trillion for AI chips.
The news came out on February 9, and naturally, tech news outlets, media platforms and forums have been in a furore.
Well, first, contrary to what the headlines have commonly reported, Altman isn’t going to spend $7 trillion on AI chips alone. Chips are at the core of what he wants to manufacture more of, but the current chip industry simply isn’t ready — manufacturing chips isn’t just extraordinarily capital-intensive, but also “one of the most intricately complex industries in the world”, subjected to sharp cyclical downswings and requiring intensive training and risk management.
So this $7 trillion — actually, it’s estimated to be $5–7 trillion — will include the investments needed for the real estate, the data centers, the training, the infrastructure and everything needed to make an ecosystem of super-fast chip-producing factories.
Pundits are divided on whether this is at all feasible. To contextualise Altman’s $7 trillion ask, the global chip market was worth $527…
