Written by: Long Yue
OpenAI is transforming from a research lab into a vertically integrated "AI empire."
On October 8, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed in a recent conversation with Ben Horowitz, co-founder of renowned venture capital firm a16z, that OpenAI has decided to make a "very aggressive infrastructure bet," one so large that it 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 upcoming models will create enormous economic value, and the current pace of expansion can no longer meet future demand.
This strategy directly explains OpenAI's recent series of collaborations with tech giants such as Nvidia, Oracle, and AMD. Altman previewed that more such partnerships will be announced in the coming months, showing that OpenAI is attempting to leverage the entire industry chain "from electronics to model distribution."
This may also mean that the AI race is shifting from algorithms to an all-out battle involving computing power, capital, and energy.
Altman also directly linked the future of AI to the future of energy, pointing out that the exponential growth of AI will require cheaper and more abundant energy. He predicted that the long-term solution will be a combination of solar energy plus storage and advanced nuclear energy, asserting that the cost of nuclear energy will be the key variable determining whether it can be rapidly adopted and thus support AI development.
When discussing the company's vision, Altman stated that OpenAI is not just a research lab, but a comprehensive entity integrating consumer AI subscription services, large-scale infrastructure operations, and cutting-edge AI research, dedicated to building artificial general intelligence (AGI) and making it beneficial to humanity.
Key points from Sam Altman's interview:
- Aggressive infrastructure bet: Altman revealed that the company is making a "very aggressive infrastructure bet," the scale of which requires industry-wide collaboration. This massive investment is based on strong confidence in the capabilities of models in the next one to two years, not current models, and he previewed more industry partnerships in the coming months.
- Blueprint for the future of energy: 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 energy. He believes that once nuclear energy demonstrates an "overwhelming economic advantage," its development will be extremely rapid, and called past restrictions on nuclear energy "an extremely foolish decision."
- Sora's strategic position: Sora is not just a video generation tool, but a strategic tool for building "world models" to advance AGI and help society adapt to AI development.
- "AI scientists" are coming: Altman predicts that AI models will be able to make major scientific discoveries within the next two years, which he sees as the true sign of AI changing the world. He revealed that GPT-5 has already begun to show the ability to make small, novel scientific discoveries.
- Strategic shift to vertical integration: Altman admitted that his previous views on vertical integration were wrong, and now believes it is the necessary path for OpenAI to achieve its mission, drawing an analogy to the success of the Apple iPhone.
- New copyright model: He foresees that in the future, AI training may be considered fair use, but using specific IP to generate content will give rise to new business models. Some copyright holders are even more worried that their IP is not being sufficiently used by AI, rather than overused.
- Commercialization and trust: Regarding commercialization, Altman is open but cautious about advertising, emphasizing that user trust in ChatGPT must never be compromised. He believes that recommending paid products instead of the best products would destroy this trust relationship.
"A Very Aggressive Gamble": Infrastructure Expansion Based on Future Demand
Amid current skepticism about whether AI is a bubble, Altman's statement has undoubtedly added fuel to the market's frenzy. He stated bluntly: "We have decided that it is time to make a very aggressive infrastructure bet."
This decision is not based on the current demand for products like ChatGPT, but stems from strong optimism about the future. Altman revealed: "The reason we are being so aggressive is not because of the models we have... We can see (the capabilities of future models) one to two years in advance." He believes that the economic value that upcoming models can create will far exceed imagination, so it is necessary to plan ahead.
The scale of this gamble is so huge that it requires support from the entire industry. Altman said: "To bet at this scale, we kind of need the whole industry... to support it." This covers "everything from electronics to model distribution and all the links in between."
This also explains why OpenAI is actively establishing partnerships with companies like AMD, Oracle, and Nvidia. He further hinted that this is just the beginning, "In the next few months, you should see us making more moves."
The Lifeline of AI: The Future of Nuclear and Solar Energy
Altman admitted that the two fields he cares most about in his career—AI and energy—have now "merged into one." He believes that, looking back at history, the factor that has most improved human quality of life is cheaper and more abundant energy. And the huge demand for AI computing power is pushing the energy issue to the forefront.
As for how to solve future energy needs, Altman provided a clear roadmap. He expects that in the short term, most of the new base-load energy in the United States will come from natural gas. But in the long run, he believes "the two dominant energy sources will be solar plus storage, and nuclear energy." The nuclear energy he refers to includes the entire advanced nuclear technology stack, such as small modular reactors (SMRs) and nuclear fusion.
Regarding the development of nuclear energy, Altman put forward a key economic viewpoint. He believes that the speed at which nuclear energy is adopted depends entirely on its cost. "If it has an overwhelming economic advantage over everything else, then I expect it will happen very quickly."
He added that at that point, enormous political pressure will push regulators to act quickly. Conversely, if its cost is similar to other energy sources, anti-nuclear sentiment may make its development process extremely long. He did not mince words in calling the decision to ban nuclear energy in many regions in the past "an extremely foolish decision."
The Strategic Value of Sora: More Than Just Video Generation
Regarding the recently released text-to-video model Sora, Altman also explained its multiple roles in the company's strategy. He believes that Sora may appear unrelated to artificial general intelligence (AGI) on the surface, but he is convinced that building strong "world models" is far more important for achieving AGI than people realize.
In addition, Sora is also an important tool for OpenAI to guide the "co-evolution" of society and technology. Altman said that just as ChatGPT made the world take large language models seriously, Sora can allow society to anticipate the impact and opportunities that powerful video models will soon bring. "It's very important for the world to understand the direction of video technology development," he said.
Of course, Sora also brings new commercialization challenges. Altman observed that users use it not only for professional creation but also to make fun memes and share them. There is a contradiction between the high cost of generation and the high frequency of entertainment use, which means OpenAI needs to explore a business model for Sora that is completely different from ChatGPT.
The Catalyst for AGI: "AI Scientists" Are Coming
Among all potential AI applications, Altman said what excites him "the most" is "AI scientists." He believes that when AI can independently make scientific discoveries, the world will truly change.
"For the first time, we saw small examples of this happening on GPT-5," he revealed. He observed that the model has already been able to make some novel mathematical discoveries or achieve small advances in physics and biology research, and believes this trend will go even further.
He predicts that within the next two years, models will be able to take on larger chunks of scientific work and make important discoveries, which will have a "significant impact" on the world.
From Investor to Operator: A Cognitive Shift Toward Vertical Integration
In the interview, Altman also reflected on his transition from investor to company operator and how this has influenced OpenAI's strategy. He admitted that he had always opposed vertical integration, but "now I think I was just wrong."
He attributed this cognitive shift to the actual experience of running a company. As an investor, he preferred theoretical market efficiency, with each company doing only one thing. But as CEO, he realized that to achieve the company's mission, he had to personally do more than expected. The huge success of the Apple iPhone is an extreme example of vertical integration, which Altman called "the most incredible product in the history of the tech industry."
This shift from "advising" to "executing" explains why OpenAI has evolved from a pure research lab to building its own large-scale infrastructure, striving to master full-stack capabilities from underlying computing power to upper-layer applications, laying the foundation for its grand AI empire.
