OpenAI Lobbies for Expansion of Chips Act Tax Credit to Include AI Infrastructure

OpenAI is pushing the U.S. government to broaden the scope of the Chips Act tax credit, currently offering a 35% incentive for semiconductor manufacturing. In a letter to the TRUMP administration, Chris Lehane, OpenAI’s Chief Global Affairs Officer, proposed extending the credit to cover AI data centers, server production, and critical electrical grid components. The move aims to slash costs associated with building advanced AI infrastructure.

Lehane argues that expanding the tax credit WOULD lower the effective cost of capital, mitigate early-stage investment risks, and catalyze private financing for AI development. OpenAI also emphasized the need for a resilient domestic supply chain, highlighting dependencies on specialized steel, transformers, and other electrical equipment crucial for high-capacity data centers.

The lobbying effort coincides with OpenAI’s $38 billion agreement to purchase computing capacity from Amazon Web Services. The deal will deploy hundreds of thousands of Nvidia GPUs across AWS infrastructure, with plans for further expansion. Amazon cited unprecedented demand for compute power driven by AI advancements, noting initial phases will leverage existing data centers.