Tech Voices: Altman on OpenAI growth, Ford mulls scrapping F-150 EV

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_Seeking Alpha's roundup of statements, announcements, and remarks that could impact the technology sector._

* OpenAI (OPENAI [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/OPENAI]) CEO Sam Altman said he sees his company with an annualize revenue run rate of $20 billion this year.

In a long post on X, Altman addressed certain concerns he thought the market had about the burgeoning AI company and its prospects.

“'How is OpenAI going to pay for all this infrastructure it is signing up for?' We expect to end this year above $20 billion in annualized revenue run rate and grow to hundreds of billion by 2030. We are looking at commitments of about $1.4 trillion over the next 8 years," Altman said in his post [https://x.com/sama/status/1986514377470845007?s=46].

"'Why do you need to spend so much now, instead of growing more slowly?'. We are trying to build the infrastructure for a future economy powered by AI, and given everything we see on the horizon in our research program, this is the time to invest to be really scaling up our technology," Altman added.

* Altman also asserted that his company was not looking for any government guarantees for its business.

"We do not have or want government guarantees for OpenAI datacenters. We believe that governments should not pick winners or losers, and that taxpayers should not bail out companies that make bad business decisions or otherwise lose in the market. If one company fails, other companies will do good work," Altman posted on X [https://x.com/sama/status/1986514377470845007?s=46].

"The one area where we have discussed loan guarantees is as part of supporting the buildout of semiconductor fabs in the US, where we and other companies have responded to the government’s call and where we would be happy to help (though we did not formally apply)," Altman added.

"The basic idea there has been ensuring that the sourcing of the chip supply chain is as American as possible in order to bring jobs and industrialization back to the US, and to enhance the strategic position of the US with an independent supply chain, for the benefit of all American companies," Altman added.

* Ford (F [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/F]) is reportedly considering discontinuing the EV version of its F-150 pickup truck, which was introduced with much fanfare in 2021, due to low demand.

A final decision on the fate on the pickup, also called The Lightning, has not yet been made, according to The Wall Street Journal [https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/ford-150-lightning-ev-decision-89dc0d84], which cited people close to the matter.

Ford temporarily halted production of the truck last month due to aluminum shortages. The company is contemplating idling the plant as it shifts to the production of smaller, cheaper EVs, the Journal added.

MORE ON OPENAI, FORD

* Wall Street Lunch: OpenAI Surpasses 1M Global Business Consumers [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4838477-wall-street-lunch-openai-serves-1m-global-business-consumers]
* Wall Street Lunch: Amazon, OpenAI Sign $38B Deal For Nvidia GPU Access [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4836951-wall-street-lunch-amazon-openai-sign-38b-deal-to-supply-nvidia-gpus]
* Ford: Strong Core Business Performance [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4833404-ford-strong-core-business-performance]
* Ford mulls pulling the plug on F-150 Lightning as losses pile up - report [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4517711-ford-mulls-pulling-the-plug-on-f-150-lightning-as-losses-pile-up---report]
* OpenAI provides lawmakers with suggestions for AI safety standards for minors [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4517654-openai-provides-lawmakers-with-suggestions-for-ai-safety-standards-for-minors]