Key Takeaways
- OpenAI seeks expanded tax credits and faster approvals for AI infrastructure.
- The company clarified it is not seeking government financial guarantees for its data centers.
- OpenAI revealed ambitious financial targets, including over $20 billion in annualized revenue by 2025.
OpenAI has formally requested US government assistance to accelerate its massive AI data center and infrastructure buildout. In a letter to the White House, the company outlined specific policy changes needed to support its ambitious plans.
OpenAI’s Policy Requests
OpenAI’s Chief Global Affairs Officer, Chris Lehane, sent a letter to Michael Kratsios, the White House’s director of science and technology policy. The company asked the government to expand the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit (AMIC) – a 35% tax credit from the Biden administration’s Chips Act.
Lehane proposed broadening the credit to cover not just semiconductor fabrication but also electrical grid components, AI servers, and AI data centers.
“Broadening coverage of the AMIC will lower the effective cost of capital, de-risk early investment, and unlock private capital to help alleviate bottlenecks and accelerate the AI build in the US,” Lehane wrote in the letter.
Additional requests included:
- Expediting permitting and environmental reviews for AI projects
- Creating a strategic reserve of essential raw materials including copper, aluminum, and processed rare earth minerals
Although OpenAI first published this letter on October 27, it gained significant media attention only recently.
Clarifying Government Support
The topic gained prominence after OpenAI executives discussed their expectations from the Trump administration. At a Wall Street Journal event, CFO Sarah Friar suggested the government should “backstop” OpenAI’s infrastructure loans.
However, Friar later clarified on LinkedIn that she misspoke, writing: “OpenAI is not seeking a government backstop for our infrastructure commitments. I used the word ‘backstop’ and it muddied the point.”
CEO Sam Altman reinforced this position, stating: “We do not have or want government guarantees for OpenAI datacenters. We believe that governments should not pick winners or losers, and that taxpayers should not bail out companies that make bad business decisions or otherwise lose in the market.”
Altman did acknowledge that OpenAI has discussed loan guarantees specifically for supporting the buildout of semiconductor fabrication plants in the US.
Ambitious Financial Targets
In the same communication, Altman revealed OpenAI’s substantial financial ambitions. The company expects to achieve over $20 billion in annualized revenue by the end of 2025 and aims to grow to hundreds of billions in revenue by 2030.
Most notably, OpenAI has secured $1.4 trillion in capital commitments for the next eight years, indicating massive planned expansion in AI infrastructure and capabilities.
