Sam Altman faces a make-or-break year as OpenAI expands

Sam Altman is pushing OpenAI into large-scale datacentre and compute expansion, including announced plans for up to $1tn of investment and multibillion-dollar chip deals, while the company is spending heavily and remains years from profitability; at the same time OpenAI has increased political outreach and lobbying to shape the regulatory environment.

Sam Altman has framed vast advances in AI as solutions to major social problems and as pathways to broad economic change. To pursue that vision, he has directed OpenAI toward rapid expansion and large present-day investments in computing infrastructure and partnerships. Those moves have coincided with a rise in political outreach and public-facing campaigning as the company navigates regulatory and competitive pressures. Key facts: - Altman has argued that AI could tackle issues like climate change and disease, create advanced intelligence and deliver widespread economic gains. - OpenAI has announced plans for large datacentre and compute investment (the article cites figures around $1tn and a $1.4tn commitment in related statements) and struck multibillion-dollar deals with chipmakers; its datacentre plans are described as potentially using more power than entire European nations. - The company is spending tens of billions and, according to the article, remains years from becoming profitable, prompting analyst concern that it could be becoming too big to fail. - OpenAI increased political engagement and lobbying (reported lobbying spending of $2.99m in 2025, up from $1.76m the year before and $260,000 in 2023) and its CEO has met with senior political figures; the Department of Defense awarded OpenAI a reported $200m contract for AI work in June. - Competition from Google's Gemini prompted an internal "code red" at OpenAI to refocus on ChatGPT, while the company faces legal and public pushback over issues such as deepfakes and copyright suits. - Altman has expanded personal investments in areas the article links to his view of the future, including nuclear startups (Helion and past ties to Oklo), biotech and longevity funding, neural interfaces (Merge Labs), and a biometric project from Tools for Humanity that has scanned tens of millions of people. Summary: Altman's strategy has tied a broad corporate expansion to a long-term, transformative vision for AI while increasing the company's political and commercial footprint, which the article says has raised concerns among analysts and lawmakers about scale, spending and oversight. Reports of a possible initial public offering toward the end of 2026 with a multibillion- to trillion-dollar valuation are cited as a major upcoming milestone. Undetermined at this time