Sam Altman Urges U.S. to Expand Chips Act Tax Credit for AI Growth

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has renewed his call for the U.S. government to broaden the scope of the Chips Act tax credit, emphasizing the need to strengthen America’s position as a global leader in artificial intelligence. Altman’s statement, shared on X Friday, supports a recent letter from OpenAI’s Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The letter urged an extension of the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit (AMIC) to include AI server production, data centers, and critical grid components.

The AMIC, originally designed to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing, could play a pivotal role in accelerating AI infrastructure if expanded. Altman highlighted that U.S. “re-industrialization across the entire stack — from fabs and turbines to transformers and steel — will benefit every industry, including AI.” However, he clarified that this proposed tax credit differs significantly from federal loan guarantees sought by the company.

Earlier this week, Altman confirmed that OpenAI has held talks with the U.S. government regarding possible federal loan guarantees to fund the construction of chip manufacturing facilities — not data centers. He also revealed that OpenAI plans to invest an estimated $1.4 trillion over the next eight years to expand its computational capacity, underscoring the soaring demand for advanced chips and AI data infrastructure.

The global race to develop AI technologies has intensified, with tech giants rushing to build powerful data centers and next-generation chips to support models like ChatGPT. Despite the sector’s rapid growth, White House AI and crypto advisor David Sacks made it clear that the administration would not provide federal bailouts for AI companies.