OpenAI is pressing the Trump administration to stretch the 2022 Chips Act's 35% tax credit—originally for semiconductor fabs—into a lifeline for the exploding AI sector, covering massive data centers, server builds, and grid upgrades like transformers and specialized steel. In an October 27 letter to White House science policy chief Michael Kratsios, Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane argued this tweak would slash capital costs, ease investment risks, and flood the market with private dollars to bust through AI infrastructure jams. With OpenAI's eye-watering $1.4 trillion pledge for chips and facilities to supercharge models beyond ChatGPT, the ask spotlights how Big AI views Washington as a key partner in outpacing global rivals like China.
The plea drops amid a firestorm over OpenAI's cash crunch, right after CFO Sarah Friar floated government "backstops" for data center financing—quickly walked back by her and CEO Sam Altman as a slip-up, insisting they're chasing incentives, not bailouts. Altman doubled down Friday on social media, cheering a full supply-chain revival "from fabs to transformers" that lifts all boats, while White House AI point man David Sacks slammed the door on rescues: "No federal bailout for AI." This comes as Trump remakes the Chips framework, swapping grants for equity in deals like Intel's, signaling a pro-business pivot that could greenlight OpenAI's vision without the bailout stigma.
Beyond taxes, OpenAI's letter floats grants, loans, and guarantees for AI makers to counter Beijing's grip on metals like copper and electrical steel, while slashing waits for power grid gear essential to the AI surge. Echoing a September white paper, it backs similar perks for bulk U.S. chip buys to prop up domestic plants—drawing from Chips' playbook, where just $5.5 billion of $75 billion has flowed out so far. Tech titans like Microsoft and Google, racing to erect AI hubs, stand to gain big, potentially turbocharging a $1 trillion buildout that could juice GDP by 5% or more.
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This aligns snugly with Trump's "win the AI race" drumbeat, retooling the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit—bumped to 35% in July's tax overhaul—for broader tech muscle. Detractors flag it as corporate favoritism, but backers hail it as smart security—keeping AI innovation homegrown amid ChatGPT-fueled demand that's straining grids from Texas to California.
As the White House digests the pitch, OpenAI's lobbying blitz cements AI's clout in D.C., betting targeted tax magic will spark a stateside revolution that buries foreign threats and crowns America the undisputed AI king.
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