Remix.run Logo
OpenAI asks U.S. for loan guarantees to fund $1T AI expansion(investinglive.com)
96 points by donsupreme 7 hours ago | 29 comments
dhx 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

If the government wanted to pump USD$1T into the economy, is investment into a stack of sheds full of rapidly depreciating computers the most effective use of USD$1T?

Some example contrasting options:

- Worldwide investment in 300mm wafer fab equipment is projected to be USD$107-138B per year through to 2028.[1] USD$1T buys 100% of the global production of 300mm wafer fab equipment for about 7 years.

- European Union countries are projected to spend approximately USD$250B on electricity generation and transmission infrastructure projects in 2025.[2] The US is projected to spend a similar amount.[3] China is projected to spend approximately USD$460B.[4] USD$1T buys 4 years worth of European Union or US expenditure on electricity generation and transmission infrastructure, or 2 years worth of Chinese expenditure.

- Worldwide biopharmaceutical R&D was estimated to amount to USD$276B in 2021.[5] More conservative estimates include USD$102 in 2024.[6] Using the larger estimate, USD$1T buys 3.5 years of global biopharmaceutical R&D.

[1] https://www.trendforce.com/news/2025/10/14/news-2nm-race-dri...

[2] https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-investment-2025/eur...

[3] https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-investment-2025/uni...

[4] https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-investment-2025/chi...

[5] doi:10.1038/d41573-024-00131-2 (https://www.analysisgroup.com/globalassets/insights/publishi...)

[6] https://www.iqvia.com/blogs/2025/06/global-trends-in-r-and-d...

quantified 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

It's an admission that they think it's quite likely they go bust. Of course they'll try to put the taxpayer on the hook, without giving much upside back if they succeed.

fanatic2pope 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Socialize the risks, privatize the profits.

beefnugs 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I think its an obvious escape hatch: oh well they told us we dont get all the money we need so thats why AI sucks... economy will collapse now and its everyone elses fault except us

moosedman 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I don't get why they are trying so hard to keep this from the front page, they're doing everything they can to nerf it. It's all over the internet at this point.

Edit: Streisand effect this clownery, show them how the internet works.

zaphirplane an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I really need to read up on how a non profit took donations and converted them into a company owned by individuals, then IPO.

throw234234234 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Don't get it. Especially when I see competing model providers. What makes OpenAI special?

As a private person you can't even buy any upside into it directly. Without equity why would the US govt ever take a deal like this?

exe34 an hour ago | parent [-]

it depends how much they donate to the golden ballroom!

vivzkestrel 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

does anyone have the slightest idea on how much open AI is currently earning in terms of revenue per quarter vs how much money they are actually burning per quarter? What is their userbase? 1 billion? What is the upside basically is my question

brokenmachine 4 hours ago | parent [-]

There's been quite a few videos on youtube about the creative accounting going on where Nvidia funds OpenAI to buy stuff from Nvidia, etc.

Like snakes eating their own tail. If you or I did it, we'd go to jail.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBCujAQtdfQ

But the big end of town apparently thinks it's worth a government investment of a trillion dollars for all that repackaging of stolen content.

It'd be really interesting to see how the books actually look. I'm guessing it's not pretty.

bix6 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> Friar dismissed speculation that OpenAI might soon go public, saying an IPO “is not on the cards right now.”

I thought the whole point of going public was to tap the broader market for liquidity? Maybe they should SPAC lol.

paulddraper 2 hours ago | parent [-]

?

Wasn’t that just in the news?

Frieren an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Privatize profits socialize risks. This is not capitalism, this is just old-fashion feudalism with a new technological aristocracy on top.

jimmydoe 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

If the excuse is to compete w china, I say just let china win.

moosedman 4 hours ago | parent [-]

Same, I think that people in tech underestimate how any people will be. It'll bring down the industry

lumost 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

It would be utterly nonsensical for the US to take this deal. The easy alternative would be to subsidize GPU datacenter buildouts on favorable terms with nvidia/accelerator providers. OpenAI/Anthropic amd everyone else could then competitively bid on access.

I guarantee you that openai would leverage this deal to the gills and come back for more.

vannevar 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Nonsensical for the US, but not necessarily nonsensical for Donald Trump and his family, depending on what Altman can offer him. Maybe not a 747, but he could certainly arrange to purchase Trumpcoin, like the UAE did to invest in Binance.

When you have the most openly corrupt administration in modern US Presidential history, the interests of the nation are not the yardstick to use to measure the value of a deal.

throwaway290 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

What if the government wants to snoop. Then they want to "help out" product where people confide the most private stuff. Strings attached.

torified 4 hours ago | parent [-]

What do you think is stopping them from snooping regardless?

throwaway290 2 hours ago | parent [-]

which you mean, like if there is no such product where people confide because it ran out of money and gov didn't help? or if it survived without gov help and can there fore say "f you, we won't backdoor" apple style when asked for data?

tonfreed 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

In an era where the working poor are struggling to buy groceries and pay rent, these clowns want government money to make a better chat bot.

What a complete circus.

anon291 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

No

bigbuppo 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Is this all part of the sequel to the horse ebooks / bear stearns bravo ARG?

rogerkirkness 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I've been using the gpt-oss 20b parameter model on my laptop and it works great. Doesn't reject giving legal or medical advice either. Obviously not good enough for coding, but seems like 'useful AI assistant for daily life' is in overshoot.

gdulli 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Somewhere a doctor is happy he found a model that's good enough for coding but he thinks, I'm certainly not dumb enough to use this for medical advice.

iAMkenough 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

That’s great, but not a reason for taxpayers to get involved and be on the hook for massive risky investments.

OpenAI doesn’t need government financial backing for investment. The government has more pressing priorities to address with the money they take from us first.

questionableans 4 hours ago | parent [-]

I’m guessing the grandparent poster would agree with you.

moosedman 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

It's interesting because if Trump falls for this, at it fuels an even bigger bubble than is already going and Fed can't lower interest rates, then it will destroy his part in the midterms. If he can't bring down costs and interest rates people are going to freak out, that's clear from the polls. Where most people in the country are at in the moment is a precarious one step away from ruin while watching prices going and interest rates stay. That's not Sam's reality but most people are struggling and if Sam hordes all the resources to him, people are going to revolt.

lawlessone 7 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Not a financial expert but won't this massively inflate prices wherever open spends it? e.g Energy?