Altman’s Hunt For OpenAI Capital Continues, Sparks Talks With Singapore’s Temasek

The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that executives at Temasek – one of the world’s largest state-owned investors – have had several rounds of discussions with OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman in recent months.

Citing sources familiar with the discussions, the FT said Temasek, which has an asset portfolio worth $287 billion, was initially interested in investing in Hydrazine Capital, Altman’s venture capital fund, but recent talks included the possibility of investing in OpenAI.

Benzinga contacted both Temasek and OpenAI for comment. Temasek replied saying that “as a matter of policy, we decline to comment on market speculation.”

OpenAI Chip Manufacturing Project

If true, the talks come as Altman seeks funds to contribute to the global semiconductor manufacturing output. To this end, he has already been in talks with Middle East sovereign wealth funds, as reported last month by Benzinga.

The ambitious project proposed by Altman would likely cost in the region of $7 trillion and he is reportedly seeking support from U.S. government officials to boost global chip capacity in anticipation of an expected boom in demand from AI development and deployment.