Sam Altman talks with a16z co-founder: Radical bets on AI infrastructure, Sora is a key strategy.

OpenAI is transforming from a research laboratory into an "AI empire," radically expanding its infrastructure and integrating the industry chain to meet the future development demands of AI. This article is based on a piece by Wall Street Journal, organized, translated, and written by Deep Tide. (Background: AMD allows OpenAI to "take a 10% stake" with stock prices surging 24%, fully declaring war on Nvidia Cuda?) (Background supplement: Altman shares a frame with Pokémon: hoping Nintendo won't sue us... OpenAI's new Sora model ignites copyright war) OpenAI is transitioning from a research laboratory to a vertically integrated "AI empire." On October 8, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed in a recent conversation with a16z co-founder Ben Horowitz that OpenAI has decided to make a "very radical infrastructure bet," the scale of which requires participation from the entire industry. He explained that this decision is based on strong confidence in the capabilities of models in the next one to two years, as they foresee that the upcoming models will create immense economic value, while the current expansion pace can no longer meet future demands. This strategy directly explains the series of collaborations recently established by OpenAI with tech giants like Nvidia, Oracle, and AMD. Altman forecasted that more such collaborations will be announced in the coming months, showing that they are trying to leverage the entire industry chain "from electronics to model distribution." This may also mean that the AI competition is shifting from algorithms to an all-encompassing struggle regarding computing power, capital, and energy. Altman also directly links the future of AI with the future of energy, pointing out that the exponential rise of AI will require cheaper and more abundant energy. He predicts that the long-term solution will be a combination of solar energy with energy storage and advanced nuclear power, asserting that the cost of nuclear energy will be a key variable determining whether it can be rapidly popularized, and thus support AI development. When discussing the company's vision, Altman stated that OpenAI is not just a research laboratory but a composite entity integrating consumer AI subscription services, large-scale infrastructure operations, and cutting-edge AI research, dedicated to building General Artificial Intelligence (AGI) and making it beneficial to humanity. Key points from Sam Altman's interview: Radical infrastructure bets: Altman revealed that the company is making a "very radical infrastructure bet," the scale of which requires the entire industry to work together. This massive investment is based on strong confidence in the future capabilities of models in the next one to two years, rather than current models, and he forecasts that more industry collaborations will be announced in the coming months. Future energy blueprint: Altman pointed out that AI and energy have "merged into one," and the exponential growth of AI will depend on cheaper and more abundant energy. He predicts that future energy will be dominated by "solar + storage" and nuclear power. He believes that once nuclear power demonstrates "overwhelming economic advantages," its development will be extremely rapid, and he calls the past limitations on nuclear energy "extremely foolish decisions." Strategic position of Sora: Sora is not only a video generation tool but also a strategic tool for building a "world model" to advance AGI and help society adapt to AI development. The arrival of "AI scientists": Altman predicts that AI models will be able to make significant scientific discoveries within the next two years, which he sees as a true sign of AI changing the world. He revealed that GPT-5 has begun to show the ability to make small, novel scientific discoveries. Strategic shift to vertical integration: Altman admitted that his past view on vertical integration was incorrect and now believes it is a necessary path for OpenAI to achieve its mission, likening it to the success of Apple's iPhone. New copyright model: He foresees that future AI training may be considered fair use, but using specific intellectual property to generate content will give rise to new business models. Some copyright holders are even more concerned about their intellectual property not being fully utilized by AI rather than being excessively used. Commercialization and trust: Regarding commercialization, Altman has an open but cautious attitude towards advertising, emphasizing that trust in ChatGPT must never be compromised. He believes that recommending paid products instead of the best products would destroy this trust relationship. "Very radical gamble": Infrastructure expansion based on future demand Amid the current doubts about whether AI is in a bubble, Altman's statement undoubtedly adds fuel to the market's enthusiasm. He bluntly stated: "We have decided that it is time to make a very radical infrastructure bet."