102 pointsby donsupreme8 hours ago17 comments
  • dhx4 hours ago
    If the government wanted to pump USD$1T into the economy, is investment into a stack of sheds full of rapidly depreciating computers the most effective use of USD$1T?

    Some example contrasting options:

    - Worldwide investment in 300mm wafer fab equipment is projected to be USD$107-138B per year through to 2028.[1] USD$1T buys 100% of the global production of 300mm wafer fab equipment for about 7 years.

    - European Union countries are projected to spend approximately USD$250B on electricity generation and transmission infrastructure projects in 2025.[2] The US is projected to spend a similar amount.[3] China is projected to spend approximately USD$460B.[4] USD$1T buys 4 years worth of European Union or US expenditure on electricity generation and transmission infrastructure, or 2 years worth of Chinese expenditure.

    - Worldwide biopharmaceutical R&D was estimated to amount to USD$276B in 2021.[5] More conservative estimates include USD$102 in 2024.[6] Using the larger estimate, USD$1T buys 3.5 years of global biopharmaceutical R&D.

    [1] https://www.trendforce.com/news/2025/10/14/news-2nm-race-dri...

    [2] https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-investment-2025/eur...

    [3] https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-investment-2025/uni...

    [4] https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-investment-2025/chi...

    [5] doi:10.1038/d41573-024-00131-2 (https://www.analysisgroup.com/globalassets/insights/publishi...)

    [6] https://www.iqvia.com/blogs/2025/06/global-trends-in-r-and-d...

  • quantified8 hours ago
    It's an admission that they think it's quite likely they go bust. Of course they'll try to put the taxpayer on the hook, without giving much upside back if they succeed.
    • fanatic2pope7 hours ago
      Socialize the risks, privatize the profits.
    • beefnugs3 hours ago
      I think its an obvious escape hatch: oh well they told us we dont get all the money we need so thats why AI sucks... economy will collapse now and its everyone elses fault except us
  • moosedman5 hours ago
    I don't get why they are trying so hard to keep this from the front page, they're doing everything they can to nerf it. It's all over the internet at this point.

    Edit: Streisand effect this clownery, show them how the internet works.

  • zaphirplane2 hours ago
    I really need to read up on how a non profit took donations and converted them into a company owned by individuals, then IPO.
  • vivzkestrel7 hours ago
    does anyone have the slightest idea on how much open AI is currently earning in terms of revenue per quarter vs how much money they are actually burning per quarter? What is their userbase? 1 billion? What is the upside basically is my question
    • brokenmachine5 hours ago
      There's been quite a few videos on youtube about the creative accounting going on where Nvidia funds OpenAI to buy stuff from Nvidia, etc.

      Like snakes eating their own tail. If you or I did it, we'd go to jail.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBCujAQtdfQ

      But the big end of town apparently thinks it's worth a government investment of a trillion dollars for all that repackaging of stolen content.

      It'd be really interesting to see how the books actually look. I'm guessing it's not pretty.

  • throw2342342344 hours ago
    Don't get it. Especially when I see competing model providers. What makes OpenAI special?

    As a private person you can't even buy any upside into it directly. Without equity why would the US govt ever take a deal like this?

    • FuckButtons6 minutes ago
      I don’t know if you’ve seen who runs the US government at the moment.
    • exe342 hours ago
      it depends how much they donate to the golden ballroom!
  • bix68 hours ago
    > Friar dismissed speculation that OpenAI might soon go public, saying an IPO “is not on the cards right now.”

    I thought the whole point of going public was to tap the broader market for liquidity? Maybe they should SPAC lol.

  • lumost6 hours ago
    It would be utterly nonsensical for the US to take this deal. The easy alternative would be to subsidize GPU datacenter buildouts on favorable terms with nvidia/accelerator providers. OpenAI/Anthropic amd everyone else could then competitively bid on access.

    I guarantee you that openai would leverage this deal to the gills and come back for more.

    • vannevar4 hours ago
      Nonsensical for the US, but not necessarily nonsensical for Donald Trump and his family, depending on what Altman can offer him. Maybe not a 747, but he could certainly arrange to purchase Trumpcoin, like the UAE did to invest in Binance.

      When you have the most openly corrupt administration in modern US Presidential history, the interests of the nation are not the yardstick to use to measure the value of a deal.

    • throwaway2906 hours ago
      What if the government wants to snoop. Then they want to "help out" product where people confide the most private stuff. Strings attached.
      • torified5 hours ago
        What do you think is stopping them from snooping regardless?
        • throwaway2903 hours ago
          which you mean, like if there is no such product where people confide because it ran out of money and gov didn't help? or if it survived without gov help and can there fore say "f you, we won't backdoor" apple style when asked for data?
  • jimmydoe5 hours ago
    If the excuse is to compete w china, I say just let china win.
    • moosedman4 hours ago
      Same, I think that people in tech underestimate how any people will be. It'll bring down the industry
  • Frierenan hour ago
    Privatize profits socialize risks. This is not capitalism, this is just old-fashion feudalism with a new technological aristocracy on top.
  • 5 hours ago
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  • bigbuppo8 hours ago
    Is this all part of the sequel to the horse ebooks / bear stearns bravo ARG?
  • tonfreed4 hours ago
    In an era where the working poor are struggling to buy groceries and pay rent, these clowns want government money to make a better chat bot.

    What a complete circus.

  • anon2914 hours ago
    No
  • rogerkirkness7 hours ago
    I've been using the gpt-oss 20b parameter model on my laptop and it works great. Doesn't reject giving legal or medical advice either. Obviously not good enough for coding, but seems like 'useful AI assistant for daily life' is in overshoot.
    • gdulli5 hours ago
      Somewhere a doctor is happy he found a model that's good enough for coding but he thinks, I'm certainly not dumb enough to use this for medical advice.
    • iAMkenough5 hours ago
      That’s great, but not a reason for taxpayers to get involved and be on the hook for massive risky investments.

      OpenAI doesn’t need government financial backing for investment. The government has more pressing priorities to address with the money they take from us first.

      • questionableans5 hours ago
        I’m guessing the grandparent poster would agree with you.
  • moosedman8 hours ago
    It's interesting because if Trump falls for this, at it fuels an even bigger bubble than is already going and Fed can't lower interest rates, then it will destroy his part in the midterms. If he can't bring down costs and interest rates people are going to freak out, that's clear from the polls. Where most people in the country are at in the moment is a precarious one step away from ruin while watching prices going and interest rates stay. That's not Sam's reality but most people are struggling and if Sam hordes all the resources to him, people are going to revolt.
  • lawlessone8 hours ago
    Not a financial expert but won't this massively inflate prices wherever open spends it? e.g Energy?