OpenAI pitches Biden admin on need for massive data centers that use as much power as a major city

OpenAI has pitched the Biden administration on the need to build massive data centers that consume as much power as a major city to handle more advanced artificial intelligence models as global competition rises, according to a report.A slew of tech leaders – including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and executives from Anthropic, Nvidia, Microsoft and Google – met with White House officials last week to discuss the future of AI infrastructure throughout the country. Soon after the meeting, OpenAI shared a document with the White House detailing the benefits of building 5 gigawatt data centers – facilities consuming the equivalent output of five nuclear reactors and enough to power 3 million homes, according to Bloomberg News.In June, tech companies reportedly asked clean-energy company NextEra to find locations that could handle 5 gigawatts of nuclear energy.“We’ve had some come to us and say, ‘Can you show us sites that can accommodate 5 gigawatts of demand?’” NextEra CEO John Ketchum told Bloomberg News in June.“Think about that.

That’s the size of powering the city of Miami.”Ketchum declined to specify which tech companies made the inquiries.The US needs greater data capacity to secure a win in the global AI race, according to the memo, which claimed that Chinese startups increasingly pose a competitive threat, as reported by Bloomberg News.OpenAI is focused on a single large scale data center being built in the US with possible expansion in the future, a source familiar with OpenAI’s plans told The Post.The 5-gigawatt facilities would create tens of thousands of new jobs, raise the gross domestic product and secure the US’ lead in the AI race, the document said.The company is focused on expanding AI infrastructure throughout the country, an OpenAI spokesperson told The Post.OpenAI is focused on “ensuring the US remains the global leader in innovation, driving reindustrialization across the country, and ensuring AI’s benefits are widely acc...