OpenAI is getting ready to step into the rapidly growing world of AI infrastructure, with ambitious plans to pour trillions of dollars into the space over the next several years. The move could position the company as a direct competitor to Amazon Web Services (AWS), which has long dominated the cloud computing rental business.
Speaking on Wednesday, OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar revealed that the company is exploring the possibility of offering AI infrastructure services. She explained that such a business model would resemble Amazon’s cloud capacity rentals, though she emphasized that the company remains focused on meeting its own computing needs at this stage. “I do think about it as a business down the line, for sure,” Friar said.
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Friar also stressed the unprecedented demand for AI infrastructure. Comparing the current AI boom to historic technological revolutions, she noted, “It’s more like the railroads or the buildout of electricity than anything I’ve seen. The internet, it turns out in hindsight, was actually a relatively capex-light buildout. I think we are just getting started.” She further added, “The biggest thing we face is being constantly undercompute. That’s why we launched Stargate and we are just getting started.”
OpenAI’s Stargate project, announced in January alongside SoftBank, Oracle, and other partners, represents a $500 billion initiative to build massive data centers across the U.S. and abroad. This expansion underscores the company’s urgency to secure greater computing capacity as demand for GPUs and high-performance infrastructure continues to rise.
CEO Sam Altman appears equally determined to push this vision forward. Earlier this month, he confirmed that OpenAI expects to “spend trillions of dollars” on data center development in the “not very distant future.” Altman also revealed that the company is working on “a very interesting new kind of financial instrument” to help fund this ambitious plan, though he declined to share specifics.
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So far, OpenAI has already raised billions to finance advanced chips and data center operations for its AI models. However, the company wants to reduce reliance on third-party vendors. As Friar explained, “If all we do is buy from others, all we’re doing is giving them our IP because they’re learning how to build AI infrastructure.”
Meanwhile, Big Tech rivals are racing to expand their own AI capabilities. Microsoft announced plans to spend $80 billion on AI data centers this fiscal year, while Meta Platforms intends to invest up to $72 billion in AI operations. Apple has also pledged $600 billion toward U.S.-based manufacturing projects, the majority of which focus on AI.
With trillions of dollars set to flow into AI infrastructure, OpenAI’s potential entry into this market highlights the scale of competition and the enormous opportunities shaping the next era of technology.
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