OpenAI reportedly wants to build 5-gigawatt data centers, and nobody knows who could supply that much power [View all]
https://fortune.com/2024/09/27/openai-5gw-data-centers-altman-power-requirements-nuclear/
And Godzilla insurance.
To support its ambitions to develop AI systems that would be as intelligent as people, OpenAI wants the U.S. government to help streamline the construction of massive data centers that would suck up as much power as major American cities. But experts are skeptical that anyone is in a position to meet those kind of energy demands.
Two weeks ago, Altman and an assortment of other top AI players had a meeting about infrastructure at the White House. The Biden administration subsequently announced a coordinated push across government to speed up the build-out of new AI data centers in line with economic, national security, and environmental goals.
But in the past couple of days, reports from Bloomberg and the New York Times have provided more details about what OpenAI in particular is trying to get from the government: support in its quest to build data centers with power requirements of five gigawatts each.
Five gigawatts is an astonishingly large amount of power. Its the output of around five nuclear reactorsthe kind of power you need for a whole major city like Miami. Its as much as 100 times the requirement of a standard large data center. The Times reported that OpenAIs 5GW proposal drew laughter from a Japanese official
Sam only wants 5 or 7 of them.
More comparisons at the link.
They (Sam) just got $6.6 Billion from investors.
https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/openai-funding-round-startup-valuation-19811642.php
The investors, per Reuters, include a slew of tech heavyweights: Thrive Capital, Khosla Ventures, Microsoft, Nvidia, Altimeter Capital, Fidelity, SoftBank, and MGX, an Abu Dhabi-backed investment firm. According to a report from the Financial Times, OpenAI exacted an unusual pledge: Unnamed sources told the outlet that the startup expects its financiers to avoid backing its competitors
Three top executives walked.
A comment on Hacker News:
The Atlantic
https://archive.md/BzzYS says that it's clearly the Sam Show, if that was not crystal clear in the past. And what's the point of being an executive if one person makes all the decisions?
The departure of executives who were present at the time of the crisis suggests that Altmans consolidation of power is nearing completion. Will this dramatically change what OpenAI is or how it operates? I dont think so. For the first time, OpenAIs public structure and leadership are simply honest reflections of what the company has beenin effect, the will of a single person. Just: Sam.