Open AI Agreed to Buy $51 Million of AI Chips From a Startup

Despite being ousted as CEO of OpenAI last month, Sam Altman was quickly brought back, and he would have benefited if the business had gone on to create ChatGPT without him. While serving as CEO, Altman signed a statement of intent with OpenAI to purchase $51 million worth of AI chips from Rain AI, a business in which he has also made a personal investment. Based in San Francisco, less than a mile from OpenAI's main office, Rain is developing a device called a neuromorphic processing unit, or NPU, that mimics some aspects of the human brain. In 2019, OpenAI committed to investing $51 million upon the chips' release through a non-binding agreement, according to a copy of the agreement and Rain's investor reports that WIRED was able to get this year. Rain disclosed to investors that Altman had contributed over $1 million directly to the business. No prior information about the letter of intent has been released. According to investment filings, Rain may ship its first hardware to clients as early as October of the next year. Both Rain and OpenAI choose not to comment.