Sam Altman in Conversation with a16z Co-founder: Taking Radical Bets on Infrastructure, sora is a Key Strategic Tool

Original Article Title: Sam Altman on Sora, Energy, and Building an AI Empire

Original Source: a16z

Compilation and Translation: Long Yue, Wall Street News

OpenAI is transitioning from a research lab 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 an "extremely aggressive infrastructure bet" of such scale that it requires the entire industry to participate.

He explained that this decision is based on a strong confidence in the capabilities of models in the next one to two years, as they foresee that upcoming models will create significant economic value, and the current pace of expansion is insufficient to meet future demands.

This strategy directly explains OpenAI's recent series of partnerships with tech giants such as NVIDIA, Oracle, AMD, and others. Altman teased that more of such partnerships will be announced in the coming months, showing their attempt to leverage the entire industry chain "from electrons to model distribution."

This also implies that the AI race is shifting from algorithms to a comprehensive battle involving computing power, capital, and energy.

Altman also directly linked the future of AI with the future of energy, pointing out that AI's exponential growth will require cheaper and more abundant energy. He predicted that the long-term solution will be a combination of solar energy with energy storage and advanced nuclear energy, asserting that the cost of nuclear energy will be a key variable in determining its rapid adoption and thus supporting AI development.

When discussing the company's vision, Altman stated that OpenAI is not just a research lab but a comprehensive entity that combines 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 an "extremely aggressive infrastructure bet" that requires industry-wide support. This significant investment is based on a strong confidence in the capabilities of models in the next one to two years, rather than the current models, and he teased more industry partnerships in the months ahead.

· Energy Future Blueprint: Altman pointed out that AI and energy have "merged," and the exponential growth of AI will rely 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 energy demonstrates "overwhelming economic advantages," its development will be extremely rapid, and he calls past restrictions on nuclear energy a "profoundly stupid decision."

· Sora's Strategic Position: Sora is not just a video generation tool but also a strategic tool for building a "world model" to advance AGI and help society adapt to the development of AI.

· The Arrival of "AI Scientists": Altman predicts that AI models will be able to make major scientific discoveries in the next two years, which he sees as the true sign of AI changing the world. He reveals that GPT-5 has begun to demonstrate the ability to make small-scale, novel scientific discoveries.

· Strategic Shift to Vertical Integration: Altman acknowledges that his past views on vertical integration were wrong and now believes it is a necessary path for OpenAI to achieve its mission, drawing a parallel to the success of the Apple iPhone.

· New Copyright Model: He foresees that in the future, AI training may be seen as fair use, but using specific IP to generate content will lead to new business models. Some copyright holders are even more concerned that their IP will not be fully utilized by AI rather than being overused.

· Commercialization and Trust: In terms of commercialization, Altman holds an open but cautious attitude towards advertising, emphasizing that user trust in ChatGPT must never be compromised. He believes that recommending paid products over the best products will destroy this trust relationship.

"A Very Aggressive Bet": Infrastructure Expansion Based on Future Demand

In the current debate surrounding whether AI is experiencing a bubble, Altman's statement undoubtedly adds fuel to the market's frenzy. He stated, "We have decided that it's time to make a very aggressive infrastructure bet."

This decision is not based on the current demand for products like ChatGPT but on a firm belief in the future. Altman revealed, "The reason we are so aggressive is not because of the models we have...we can see (the capabilities of future models) one to two years ahead." He believes that the economic value that upcoming models will be able to create will far exceed imagination, so proactive planning is necessary.

The scale of this gamble is enormous, to the point where the support of the entire industry is needed. Altman said, "To bet at this scale, we kind of need the entire industry...to support it." This encompasses "everything from silicon to model distribution and everything in between."

This also explains why OpenAI has been actively engaging with companies such as AMD, Oracle, Nvidia, and others. He further suggested that this is just the beginning, stating, "Over the next few months, you should expect to see more actions from us."

The Lifeblood of AI: The Future of Nuclear and Solar Energy

Altman admitted that the two areas he is most concerned about in his career—AI and energy—have now "merged into one." He believes that throughout history, the most significant factor in improving human quality of life has been cheaper and more abundant energy. The massive computational power requirements of AI are now putting the energy issue in the spotlight.

Regarding how to address future energy needs, Altman provided a clear roadmap. He expects that in the short term, the additional baseload energy in the US will mainly come from natural gas. However, in the long run, he believes that "the two dominant sources of energy will be solar energy paired with energy storage, and nuclear energy." The nuclear energy he referred to includes the entire advanced nuclear technology stack, including Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and nuclear fusion.

Altman presented a key economic viewpoint on nuclear energy development. He believes that the speed of nuclear energy proliferation depends entirely on its cost. "If it has overwhelming economic advantages over everything else, I expect it to happen very quickly."

He added that enormous political pressure would then drive regulatory agencies to act swiftly. Conversely, if its cost is similar to other energy sources, anti-nuclear sentiment could significantly prolong its development process. He straightforwardly referred to many past decisions to ban nuclear energy in various regions as "an extremely foolish decision."

The Strategic Value of Sora: Beyond Video Generation

Regarding the recent release of the Dall-E video model Sora, Altman also outlined its multiple positions in the company's strategy. He believes that, although Sora may seem unrelated to Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) on the surface, building a powerful "world model" is far more critical to achieving AGI than people imagine.

In addition, Sora is also a vital tool for OpenAI in guiding the social and technological "co-evolution." Altman stated that just as ChatGPT made the world take large language models seriously, Sora can help societies anticipate the impact and opportunities of powerful video models that are about to arrive. "It is essential to let the world understand the development direction of video technology," he said.

Of course, Sora also brings new commercial challenges. Altman observed that users are not only using it for professional creation but also to create fun memes and share them. There is a contradiction between high generation costs and high-frequency entertainment use, meaning that OpenAI needs to explore a business model for Sora that is entirely different from ChatGPT.

The Catalyst for AGI: The Emergence of the "AI Scientist"

Among all potential AI applications, Altman said he is "most excited" about the "AI Scientist." He believes that when AI is able to independently make scientific discoveries, the world will undergo a true transformation.

"We saw a glimpse of it for the first time on GPT-5," he revealed. He noted that the model has been able to make some novel mathematical discoveries or achieve small advancements in physics and biology research, and he believes this trend will go even further.

He predicts that in the next two years, models will be able to take on larger chunks of scientific work and make significant discoveries, which will have a "profound impact" on the world.

From Investor to Operator: The Cognitive Shift of Vertical Integration

In the interview, Altman also reflected on his transition from an investor to a company operator and its impact on OpenAI's strategy. He admitted that he had always been against vertical integration, but "now I think I was wrong at the time."

He attributed this shift in mindset to the practical experience of operating a company. As an investor, he leaned more towards the theoretical market efficiency, where each company only does one thing. However, as a CEO, he realized that to accomplish the company's mission, he had to personally do more than expected. The tremendous success of the Apple iPhone is a prime example of extreme 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 gradually building its large-scale infrastructure, aiming to control full-stack capabilities from basic computing power to upper-layer applications, laying the foundation for its grand AI empire.