ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has asked the US government to expand the tax breaks currently offered to semiconductor fabrication sites to AI data centers.

As well as the tax breaks, the firm has requested quicker permitting to develop its data centers, greater investment and efforts around grid infrastructure and skills, and the establishment of a federal reserve of raw materials.

OpenAI also mooted the potential to develop a series of government-focused data centers for classified data, known as Classified Stargate.

OpenAI: Expand CHIPS Act cuts to data centers

As reported by Bloomberg and others, the firm has asked the Trump administration to revamp a CHIPS Act tax credit to help lower the cost of developing AI infrastructure.

In a recent letter to White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios, OpenAI chief global affairs officer Chris Lehane suggested the administration work with Congress to expand the chips-focused tax credit to AI data centers, servers, and electrical grid components, such as transformers.

The Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit (AMIC) was established by the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors Act of 2022, commonly known as the CHIPS Act. The act offers a 25-35 percent tax credit on chip fab developments in the US.

“Broadening coverage of the AMIC will lower the effective cost of capital, de-risk early investment, and unlock private capital to help alleviate bottlenecks and accelerate the AI build in the US,” the government said.

Last week at the Wall Street Journal’s Tech Live event, OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar said that the company is looking to create an ecosystem of banks, private equity, and a federal “backstop” or “guarantee” to help finance its deals.

The comments were widely interpreted as a call for government backing of loans and deals, which Friar walked back on in a later LinkedIn post. OpenAI Sam Altman then doubled down on this, saying the firm does not "have or want government guarantees for OpenAI data centers.”

The US government has dismissed the idea of a financial backstop for AI companies.

President Donald Trump has previously been critical of funding given to chip firms via the CHIPS and Sciences Act, and has converted funding given to Intel into equity.

Classified Stargate

The letter, published as part of a company blog calling on the US government to invest more in the country’s grid infrastructure, OpenAI also proposed updated data residency and sovereignty requirements alongside a government-focused data center push, greater and easier use of AI across government, and a number of workforce changes to ensure enough skilled workers across the supply chain.

Notably, it proposed a “Classified Stargate” initiative to help combat a “growing deficit in GPU capacity across its classified cloud environments," and mobilize private capital alongside government partners to establish “accredited, classified data centers purpose-built for government AI.”

“This model would enable the government to operate outside of hyperscaler constraints while providing the trusted, high-performance infrastructure essential for the next generation of defense and intelligence capabilities,” the company said.

Most of the major hyperscale cloud providers in the US offer government-focused services from higher-security cloud regions, as well as on-premise deployments that can be placed in government-operated facilities.

Alongside faster transmission line development, OpenAI also wanted faster federal permitting and environmental review processes for projects that build on federal lands or use federal funds. As well as accelerating the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process, OpenAI requested the government create exclusions to speed up reviews when construction “would not have a significant impact on the environment” and wants faster permitting under the Clean Water and Clean Air acts.

On the skills front, OpenAI is proposing a “Workforce Blueprint” to connect AI infrastructure companies with community colleges and technical and trade schools through local “AI Hubs” that will train people for skills around transformer manufacturing, HVDC systems, high-voltage cable installation, and grid commissioning. OpenAI noted the hubs should “leverage federal funding from the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.

The AI firm also wants the government to copy the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and establish a strategic reserve of copper, aluminum, processed rare earth elements, and raw semiconductor materials.