Before Sam Altman was unexpectedly removed from his leadership role at OpenAI, he was actively engaging with global investors to raise capital for a new venture in the AI chip market. Altman's ambition was to establish a company that could directly compete with Nvidia Corp.'s dominance in the AI semiconductor arena. He sought funding for this project, codenamed Tigris, from major investors in the Middle East, targeting a venture that would be on the cutting edge of AI chip technology. Additionally, Altman explored parallel fundraising avenues for an AI hardware device in collaboration with Jony Ive, the former design chief at Apple Inc.
Altman's efforts to secure investment for Tigris and his hardware project came as OpenAI worked towards finalizing a share sale that would value the company at $86 billion. Amidst these negotiations, Altman's discussions with potential backers, including SoftBank Group Corp., Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, and Mubadala Investment Company, were not just about OpenAI's growth but also about supporting his new independent ventures. Despite the internal friction and his eventual ouster from OpenAI, Altman's chip initiative aimed to create more affordable and efficient Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) to challenge Nvidia's market hold and reduce operational costs for AI services.
While the OpenAI board's decision to dismiss Altman was not attributed to any misconduct related to the company's operations, the move highlighted underlying disagreements over AI safety, development pace, and commercial strategies. Altman's broader ambitions contributed to the complexity of his relationship with the board, now facing pressure from investors to reconsider their decision. Whether or not Altman returns to OpenAI, his chip-making ambitions and the support he has garnered from prominent investors and Microsoft (MSFT) suggest he will continue to be a significant figure in the AI technology landscape.
Altman's pitch for the TPU-based startup, despite the potential challenges in the development and competition with Nvidia (NVDA), has garnered interest from venture capitalists and OpenAI's principal investor, Microsoft. As the AI industry waits to see if Altman will reclaim his position at OpenAI, the potential for his new venture remains a testament to his influence and the transformative power of AI technology.
