Altman plans to splash billions on a global network of chip factories by working with top chip makers to meet the huge demand for chips needed for fancy AI models.

Running AI models like ChatGPT or DALL-E costs shedloads of cash and chips. Nvidia's worth went over $1 trillion for the first time last year, partly because it has a near monopoly as GPT-4, Gemini, Llama 2, and other models rely heavily on its popular H100 GPUs.

So, the race is on to make more powerful chips to run complicated AI systems. The few fabs that can make high-end chips are making Altman or anyone else pay for capacity years in advance to get the new chips.

The Tame Apple Press claims to have heard rumours that Altman is competing against Apple to get the rich backers who will cough up the cash the non-profit OpenAI can't afford. However, that is mostly because Apple missed the boat regarding AI and still has no plans.

More solid rumours have SoftBank Group and Abu Dhabi-based AI firm G42 talking about raising money for Altman's project.

Meanwhile, Nvidia has already announced its next-generation GH200 Grace Hopper chips to extend its dominance in the space. At the same time, competitors AMD, Qualcomm, and Intel have launched processors designed to power AI models running on laptops, phones, and other devices.