OpenAI generating 100 billion words per day: Sam Altman

ChatGPT maker OpenAI is currently generating about 100 billion words per day, its Co-founder and CEO Sam Altman revealed on Saturday, as he seeks trillions of dollars to reshape the future of chips and artificial intelligence (AI).

In a post on X, Altman said that he needs more graphics-processing units (GPUs) to achieve the massive number of words humanity is generating.

“OpenAI now generates about 100 billion words per day. All people on Earth generate about 100 trillion words per day,” he added.

To reach that humongous level, we "need more GPUs.”

When a follower asked him How many GPUs can $7 trillion buy, Altman responded: “Probably a lot of GPUs.”

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Altman is in talks with investors, including the UAE government, to raise funds for a tech initiative that would boost the world's chip-building capacity.

"The project could require raising as much as $5 trillion to $7 trillion,” the report mentioned, citing sources.

Altman has often said there aren't enough high-end GPUs to power OpenAI's quest for AI.

Global sales of chips were $527 billion last year and are expected to rise to $1 trillion annually by 2030.

Late last month, Altman visited South Korea to discuss ways to set up a global network for AI chip manufacturing with key chipmakers there.

South Korean chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are two of the few companies in the world that produce the premium high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, tailored for AI processors. Their combined market share in the global HBM market reaches more than 90 per cent.