OpenAI Pitched White House on Unprecedented Data Center Buildout
- Startup calls for more US data centers as large as 5 gigawatts
- CEO met with White House officials earlier this month
Sam Altman in New York on Sept 23.
Photographer: Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty Images
OpenAI has pitched the Biden administration on the need for massive data centers that could each use as much power as entire cities, framing the unprecedented expansion as necessary to develop more advanced artificial intelligence models and compete with China.
Following a recent meeting at the White House, which was attended by OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman and other tech leaders, the startup shared a document with government officials outlining the economic and national security benefits of building 5-gigawatt data centers in various US states, based on an analysis the company engaged with outside experts on. To put that in context, 5 gigawatts is roughly the equivalent of five nuclear reactors, or enough to power almost 3 million homes.