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OpenAI Urges Trump Administration to Expand Chips Act Incentives for AI Infrastructure

By  |  November 9, 2025
AI computer chip

OpenAI has called on the Trump administration to broaden existing Chips Act incentives to include artificial intelligence data centers, hardware producers, and key electrical grid materials, according to Bloomberg. The proposal, outlined in a letter to White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios, seeks to ease the financial burden of building large-scale AI infrastructure across the United States.

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    The letter, dated October 27 and signed by OpenAI Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane, urges collaboration between the administration and Congress to expand the current 35% chips-focused tax credit. Lehane argues that extending the credit to AI data centers, server manufacturers, and grid components—such as transformers and specialized steel—would “lower the effective cost of capital, de-risk early investment and unlock private capital to help alleviate bottlenecks and accelerate the AI build in the US,” per Bloomberg.

    According to the report, the correspondence offers new insight into how OpenAI envisions the government’s role in fostering a domestic AI ecosystem capable of competing globally. The company has committed an estimated $1.4 trillion toward building data centers and purchasing chips to advance its technology, a massive investment that has drawn scrutiny over its financing structure.

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    Concerns about potential government involvement in supporting these investments grew earlier this week when OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar suggested Washington could “backstop the guarantee that allows the financing to happen.” Her comments, according to Bloomberg, prompted quick clarification from both Friar and OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman, who stressed that the company was not seeking any form of bailout.

    Read more: OpenAI Strikes $38 Billion Cloud Deal with Amazon to Boost AI Development

    US officials have since ruled out a financial rescue for AI companies. As Bloomberg reported, White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks posted online that “There will be no federal bailout for AI.” Altman also reaffirmed that government efforts should focus on strengthening the broader supply chain, not on direct support to individual firms. “To the degree the government wants to do something to help ensure a domestic supply chain, great,” Altman said. “But that’s super different than loan guarantees to OpenAI, and we hope that’s clear.”

    In addition to the proposed tax credit expansion, OpenAI’s letter recommends that the government consider issuing grants, cost-sharing agreements, and loan guarantees to AI manufacturers. Such measures, the company argues, would counteract market distortions created by China’s dominance in materials like copper, aluminum, and electrical steel, and would reduce lead times for essential grid components.

    Bloomberg noted that OpenAI had made similar recommendations in a September white paper, advocating for federal loan guarantees to help AI firms purchase US-made chips at scale. The company contends that such measures would strengthen domestic semiconductor production while lowering costs for AI developers.

    The Chips Act already includes provisions for loans and guarantees to support US semiconductor manufacturing. However, as of January, only $5.5 billion of the authorized $75 billion in available funds had been distributed, according to the Commerce Department.

    Source: Bloomberg