OpenAI is looking for a more stable supply of artificial intelligence chips. On its purchasing list, a start-up company owned by OpenAI CEO Altman is expected to become a key supplier after Nvidia. According to multiple technology media reports, OpenAI signed a non-binding letter of intent with chip developer RainAI in 2019. After the latter’s chip is launched, OpenAI will spend US$51 million to purchase its products.
Ultraman provided seed round funding to Rain in 2018, and Rain revealed that Ultraman’s investment in it has exceeded US$1 million.
In addition to Altman, Rain’s investors include Saudi Aramco’s Prosperity7. However, recently due to mandatory regulations by the US government, Prosperity7 liquidated its holdings in Rain. Rain announced in early 2022 that Prosperity7 led a $25 million round of financing.
Investor documents said Rain could deliver its first chips to customers as early as October next year. Earlier this year, Rain also said that the key process of chip development - tape-out testing, which is simply trial production - is expected to be carried out as soon as December.
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The chip Rain is developing is a chip called a neuromorphic processing unit (NPU), which is inspired by the structure of the human brain. According to the company, the chip will require less power than Nvidia's GPU chips currently commonly used in the industry, and will allow companies to customize or fine-tune artificial intelligence models in real time based on the surrounding environment.
People familiar with the matter said that these features are very attractive to OpenAI. OpenAI hopes to reduce data center costs and deploy its models to mobile phones, watches and other devices.
Currently, OpenAI uses the cloud services of its major investor Microsoft to provide AI services, but due to hardware limitations, it has to close access during periods of high traffic.
OpenAI’s lock on Rain chips highlights to some extent the chip dilemma facing the AI industry. Altman himself has complained about the supply crunch and eye-watering profits on AI chips.
In addition, the Rain transaction also reflects the binding relationship between OpenAI and Ultraman Investment Company. In the previous palace battles at OpenAI, one speculation that Ultraman was ousted was related to his personal investment.
Some people believe that Altman blurred the boundaries between OpenAI's CEO responsibilities and his personal investment business, and was therefore considered by the OpenAI board of directors as lacking integrity. Some people familiar with the matter also added to this analysis, saying that Altman's energy was too scattered, which caused dissatisfaction with the OpenAI board of directors.