OpenAI Lobbies for Data Center Tax Credits in Chips Act
▼ Summary
– OpenAI is requesting the federal government expand the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit (AMIC) to cover AI infrastructure like grid components, servers, and data centers.
– The AMIC is a 35% tax credit from the Chips Act that would lower costs and accelerate AI development in the U.S. if expanded.
– OpenAI also advocates for faster permitting and environmental reviews for projects and a strategic reserve of materials like copper and rare earth minerals.
– Executives clarified that OpenAI is not seeking government loan guarantees for its data centers, despite initial comments suggesting otherwise.
– The company projects significant growth, expecting over $20 billion in annualized revenue by 2025 and $1.4 trillion in capital commitments over eight years.
In a recent policy push, OpenAI has formally requested that the U.S. government broaden tax incentives under the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit (AMIC) to include not just semiconductor manufacturing but also electrical grid infrastructure, AI servers, and data centers. This move, detailed in a letter from OpenAI’s chief global affairs officer Chris Lehane to White House science and technology policy director Michael Kratsios, aims to accelerate the construction of AI infrastructure nationwide. The AMIC, a 35% tax credit established by the Biden administration’s Chips Act, could significantly reduce capital costs and attract private investment if expanded, according to the company’s argument.
Lehane emphasized that expanding the AMIC would lower the effective cost of capital, de-risk early investment, and unlock private capital to address bottlenecks and speed up the AI buildout across the United States. Beyond tax credits, OpenAI’s letter urged federal officials to streamline permitting and environmental reviews for new data center projects. It also recommended creating a strategic reserve of essential raw materials, such as copper, aluminum, and processed rare earth minerals, critical for building out AI infrastructure.
Although the letter was published on October 27, it gained wider attention this week following public remarks by OpenAI executives. At a Wall Street Journal event, Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar initially suggested the government should “backstop” the company’s infrastructure loans, but she later clarified on LinkedIn that she had misspoken. Friar stated, “OpenAI is not seeking a government backstop for our infrastructure commitments. I used the word ‘backstop’ and it muddied the point.”
CEO Sam Altman also addressed the issue, asserting that OpenAI neither has nor desires government guarantees for its data centers. He wrote that governments should avoid picking winners and losers and that taxpayers should not be responsible for bailing out companies that make poor business decisions. Altman did note, however, that the company had discussed loan guarantees in the context of supporting semiconductor fabrication plants in the U.S.
In the same statement, Altman shared ambitious financial projections, indicating that OpenAI expects to surpass $20 billion in annualized revenue run rate by the end of 2025 and grow to hundreds of billions by 2030. He also revealed that the company has secured $1.4 trillion in capital commitments over the next eight years, underscoring the massive scale of its planned expansion.
(Source: TechCrunch)
