Sam Altman sought billions in funding for new AI chip company before being fired

Sam Altman had been traveling to the Middle East to raise billions of dollars for a new chip company focused on AI, codenamed Tigris, before he was fired from the OpenAI board, according to people familiar with the matter. The chip company could make semiconductors that compete with Nvidia, but the company has not yet been formed and talks with investors are in the early stages. Altman has also been seeking to raise funding for an AI-focused hardware device that he developed in collaboration with former Apple design director Jony Ive. Altman has been negotiating joint ventures with SoftBank Group, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Mubadala Investment Company and others, seeking tens of billions of dollars in funding for these new companies. Altman urged investors to consider his new venture as OpenAI recently signed a tender offer led by Thrive Capital, people familiar with the matter said. People familiar with the matter said the AI ​​chip company could help OpenAI by reducing the cost of running its own services such as ChatGPT and Dall-E.