OpenAI urged Trump administration to widen Chips Act tax credit for AI data centres

OpenAI

OpenAI has quietly lobbied the US government to extend the Chips Act tax benefits beyond chipmaking to cover the massive data centre infrastructure needed to power artificial intelligence systems.

In a letter sent by OpenAI’s chief global affairs officer Chris Lehane to Michael Kratsios, the White House’s director of science and technology policy, the company asked for the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit (AMIC) to include electrical grid components, AI servers, and data centres. The AMIC currently offers a 35% tax credit for semiconductor fabrication under the Biden-era Chips Act.

Lehane argued that expanding the credit “will lower the effective cost of capital, de-risk early investment, and unlock private capital to help alleviate bottlenecks and accelerate the AI build in the US.” The letter also urged the government to streamline the permitting and environmental review process and to create a reserve of raw materials such as copper, aluminium, and rare earth minerals essential for AI infrastructure.

Although the letter was first published on October 27, it gained renewed attention this week following public comments by OpenAI executives. At a Wall Street Journal event, CFO Sarah Friar suggested the government should “backstop” OpenAI’s infrastructure loans — a remark she later retracted, clarifying on LinkedIn that she “misspoke” and that OpenAI was not seeking any financial guarantee.

CEO Sam Altman echoed that stance, writing that OpenAI “does not have or want government guarantees for OpenAI data centres.” He stressed that taxpayers should not bear the risk of corporate missteps, saying, “Governments should not pick winners or losers.” Still, he acknowledged that OpenAI had discussed loan guarantees in the context of semiconductor fab development in the US.

Altman also revealed that OpenAI expects to exceed $20 billion in annualised revenue by the end of 2025, with projections reaching “hundreds of billions” by 2030. He added that the company has made capital commitments worth $1.4 trillion over the next eight years as it continues its push to expand global AI infrastructure.