Before being kicked off the OpenAI board, Sam Altman travelled to the Middle East in order to raise billions of dollars for a new semiconductor business called Tigris that focuses on artificial intelligence. Although the chip business is still in the early phases of investor discussions and has not yet been formally established, it has the potential to develop semiconductors that rival Nvidia. In addition, Altman has been looking for money to develop a hardware product with an AI focus with former Apple design leader Jony Ive.
Seeking tens of billions of cash for these new enterprises, Altman has been in talks for joint ventures with Mubadala Investment Company, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and SoftBank Group. Insiders assert that Altman encouraged investors to have a look at his new endeavours when OpenAI recently accepted a tender bid headed by Thrive Capital. The company that makes AI chips might benefit OpenAI by lowering the expense of operating its in-house services, such ChatGPT and Dall-E.
