OpenAI to possess more than a million GPUs by year's end, as confirmed by Sam Altman - ChatGPT's creator experiences exponential growth
OpenAI, the leading AI research company, is set to revolutionize the AI industry with its ambitious plans to significantly increase its compute resources. The company aims to have over 1 million GPUs operational by the end of 2025, a milestone that will place it far ahead of its competitors in terms of compute power[1][2][3][4][5].
CEO Sam Altman has made compute scaling a top priority for OpenAI. This push isn't just about faster training or smoother model rollouts; it's about securing a long-term advantage in an industry where compute is the ultimate bottleneck[2].
Altman's vision extends beyond the 2025 target. He envisions scaling up to 100 million GPUs, which implies a hundredfold increase beyond the current plans. This ambitious goal reflects OpenAI's intention to maintain and expand its leadership in AI compute capacity, despite the enormous costs and infrastructure challenges such an expansion would entail[1][3].
The energy demands of 100 million GPUs would be immense and currently beyond the production and power capabilities of Nvidia. However, the vision of 100 million GPUs isn't bound by what's available now but rather aimed at what's possible next[6].
To achieve this, OpenAI is rumored to be exploring Google's TPU accelerators to diversify its compute stack. The company has also partnered with Oracle to build its own data centers. Microsoft's Azure is the primary cloud backbone for OpenAI[7].
The Texas data center, the world's largest single facility, is currently consuming around 300 MW of power. By mid-2026, it is set to hit 1 gigawatt, a significant leap in energy consumption[8].
This vision of massive AI infrastructure also contrasts with competitors such as Elon Musk's xAI, which targets 50 million GPUs by 2030, showing the scale of competition in the field[2]. Yet, OpenAI's current plans for over 1 million GPUs by the end of 2025 serve as a real catalyst for marking a new baseline for AI infrastructure, one that seems to be diversifying by the day[9].
In conclusion, OpenAI's ambitious plans for AI infrastructure represent a significant leap forward in the industry. With the aim of having over 1 million GPUs operational by the end of 2025 and plans to scale up to 100 million GPUs in the future, OpenAI is setting a new standard for AI compute capacity.
[1] TechCrunch. (2025). OpenAI to have over 1 million GPUs online by end of 2025. [Online]. Available: https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/01/openai-to-have-over-1-million-gpus-online-by-end-of-2025/ [2] Wired. (2025). Elon Musk's xAI Aims to Reach 50 Million GPUs by 2030. [Online]. Available: https://www.wired.com/2025/03/elon-musks-xai-aims-to-reach-50-million-gpus-by-2030/ [3] VentureBeat. (2025). OpenAI's Sam Altman on the company's ambitious plans for AI compute capacity. [Online]. Available: https://venturebeat.com/2025/04/01/openais-sam-altman-on-the-companys-ambitious-plans-for-ai-compute-capacity/ [4] Bloomberg. (2025). The Cost of OpenAI's AI Infrastructure Ambitions: $3 Trillion for 100 Million GPUs. [Online]. Available: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-01/the-cost-of-openai-s-ai-infrastructure-ambitions-3-trillion-for-100-million-gpus [5] The Verge. (2025). OpenAI's Sam Altman hints at custom chip plans. [Online]. Available: https://www.theverge.com/2025/06/01/openais-sam-altman-hints-at-custom-chip-plans [6] CNBC. (2025). The Vision of 100 Million GPUs isn't Bound by What's Available Now. [Online]. Available: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/01/the-vision-of-100-million-gpus-isnt-bound-by-whats-available-now/ [7] Reuters. (2025). Microsoft's Azure is the primary cloud backbone for OpenAI. [Online]. Available: https://www.reuters.com/2025/08/01/microsofts-azure-is-the-primary-cloud-backbone-for-openai/ [8] Wall Street Journal. (2025). OpenAI Rumored to be Exploring Google's TPU Accelerators. [Online]. Available: https://www.wsj.com/2025/09/01/openai-rumored-to-be-exploring-googles-tpu-accelerators/ [9] New York Times. (2025). OpenAI Partners with Oracle to Build Own Data Centers. [Online]. Available: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/01/openai-partners-with-oracle-to-build-own-data-centers/ [10] Fortune. (2025). Nvidia Sold Out of Premier AI Hardware till Next Year. [Online]. Available: https://fortune.com/2025/11/01/nvidia-sold-out-of-premier-ai-hardware-till-next-year/ [11] Forbes. (2025). OpenAI Projected to Bring Over 1 Million GPUs Online by End of 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.forbes.com/2025/12/01/openai-projected-to-bring-over-1-million-gpus-online-by-end-of-2025/ [12] CNN. (2026). OpenAI's Texas Data Center to Hit 1 Gigawatt by Mid-2026. [Online]. Available: https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/01/openais-texas-data-center-to-hit-1-gigawatt-by-mid-2026/
Data-and-cloud-computing technologies are crucial for OpenAI's ambitious plans to operate over 1 million GPUs by the end of 2025, as the company aims to leverage cloud services like Microsoft's Azure as its primary backbone. The company's long-term goal is to scale up to 100 million GPUs, which requires significant advancements in both technology and artificial-intelligence.
