Artificial intelligence pioneer OpenAI on Monday joined its biggest investor, Microsoft, in laying out steps the U.S. should take to stay ahead of China in the race to develop advanced AI technologies. Microsoft stock dipped amid a broad market sell-off in the technology sector.
"There's an estimated $175 billion sitting in global funds awaiting investment in AI projects, and if the U.S. doesn't attract those funds, they will flow to China-backed projects — strengthening the Chinese Communist Party's global influence," OpenAI said in its "blueprint for U.S. AI infrastructure."
Microsoft President Brad Smith in a blog post on Jan. 3 recommended new government/private industry partnerships to fund large-scale AI infrastructure investments.
Microsoft is the biggest investor in generative AI leader OpenAI, having spent some $14 billion on the startup. Microsoft on Jan. 3 announced plans to spend $80 billion in its fiscal 2025 building out data centers, up from $50 billion last fiscal year.
On the stock market today, Microsoft stock dipped 1% to 414.63.
Microsoft Stock: Trump AI Impact
OpenAI recently raised $6.6 billion in new funding, valuing the startup at $157 billion.
"We believe in America because America believes in innovation," said OpenAI in the economic blueprint. "This is why our CEO will be kicking off this work with a gathering in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 30 to preview the state of AI advancement and how it can drive economic growth."
President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20. Trump is expected to repeal President Biden's AI executive order, which required companies training large AI models to share information about them with the federal government.
It's unclear whether Trump will follow through on new AI chip export rules issued by the Biden administration. Nvidia opposes the new AI chip export rules.
In addition, Nvidia stock fell 3.4% to near 131 on Monday.
Further, Trump named former PayPal Holdings executive and Silicon Valley venture capitalist David Sacks as his artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency czar. Further, Sacks is an associate of Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who has emerged as a key advisor to Trump.
Follow Reinhardt Krause on Twitter @reinhardtk_tech for updates on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and cloud computing.
