OpenAI Pursues Fusion Power Deal With Helion, Targeting 50 Gigawatts By 2035 Amid AI Energy Crisis
Summary
OpenAI is in talks to buy fusion energy from startup Helion, targeting 5 gigawatts by 2030 and 50 gigawatts by 2035, as skyrocketing AI energy demands push the US toward a 13-gigawatt power shortfall by 2028.
Key Points
- OpenAI is in talks to purchase electricity from fusion energy startup Helion, targeting 5 gigawatts of power by 2030 and up to 50 gigawatts by 2035, as AI's surging energy demands threaten a US power shortfall of up to 13 gigawatts by 2028.
- CEO Sam Altman, a major Helion investor since 2021, steps down from Helion's board and recuses himself from deal negotiations to avoid conflicts of interest.
- OpenAI is not alone in pursuing alternative energy solutions, as Google strikes a fusion deal with Commonwealth Fusion Systems, while both Google and xAI explore orbital data centers powered by solar energy, and OpenAI simultaneously scales back its infrastructure spending outlook from $1.4 trillion to $600 billion by 2030.