On Thursday, September 13, Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, met with senior officials from the Biden administration and other technology leaders at the White House to discuss the substantial infrastructure needs for artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives.
Other notable tech leaders in attendance included Ruth Porat, President of Google, Brad Smith, President of Microsoft, and Dario Amodei, CEO of the AI startup Anthropic. Representatives from the energy sector also participated in the meeting, along with key government officials like Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm.
According to a White House official, the meeting aimed to promote public-private collaboration in the development of AI data centers within the United States. Discussions encompassed various topics, such as permitting processes, workforce requirements, electricity demand, and the economic impacts of these facilities. For instance, OpenAI announced plans to invest hundreds of billions of dollars into U.S. AI infrastructure, addressing data centers, energy capacity, transmission, and semiconductor manufacturing, with investments sourced from around the world. In recent months, OpenAI executives have been engaging with government officials to tackle a range of issues connected to this initiative, including potential national security concerns associated with foreign investments.
In a statement released on Thursday, OpenAI emphasized the critical importance of infrastructure in determining a nation’s destiny, asserting that bolstering infrastructure in the U.S. is essential for national industrial policy and economic prospects. OpenAI highlighted the economic benefits of investing in American data center projects, which could lead to the creation of 40,000 jobs across multiple states.
Ruth Porat of Google remarked that a robust energy infrastructure is vital for maintaining U.S. leadership in the emerging AI sector. “Today’s White House meeting represents a significant opportunity to advance the modernization and expansion of America’s energy network,” she stated.
In the U.S., the surge in data center construction driven by AI coincides with the implementation of the Chips and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, which have stimulated growth across the manufacturing sector. Both landmark subsidy bills were signed into law by President Biden in 2022 to support the semiconductor and clean energy industries.
As of the time of this report, Microsoft and Anthropic had not yet commented on the proceedings.