ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has written to the US government, saying that the nation must drastically increase its investment in new energy capacity to prevent falling behind China in the global race for artificial intelligence (AI) supremacy. The startup, which has recently embarked on deals for massive, power-hungry data centres, submitted an 11-page document to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy outlining the critical need for immediate action.OpenAI emphasised that the development of AI infrastructure is placing immense strain on an already struggling electric grid. The company framed electricity not just as a commodity, but as a strategic asset.“Electricity is not simply a utility,” OpenAI stated in a blog post. “It’s a strategic asset that is critical to building the AI infrastructure that will secure our leadership on the most consequential technology since electricity itself,” it added, noting that “Electrons are the new oil.”To keep pace with international rivals, OpenAI encouraged the US to commit to building 100 gigawatts (GW) of new energy capacity each year. (To put that into perspective, 10 GW is roughly equivalent to the annual power consumption of 8 million US households, according to CNBC).OpenAI also noted that China added a total of 429 gigawatts of new power capacity last year. The US, in comparison, added only 51 gigawatts during the same period.OpenAI stated that this growing gap in energy capacity is creating an “electron gap” that is directly affecting the US leadership position in AI development.

OpenAI data centre deals

Notably, OpenAI has signed multibillion-dollar data centre deals with Oracle, NVIDIA, and CoreWeave in recent months. The company aims to diversify its computing power beyond its primary partner, Microsoft. The expansion is part of the massive, multi-vendor “Stargate” project.