In an Oct. 27 letter to the White House, OpenAI explicitly requested federal loan guarantees for AI infrastructure, but the White House graciously rejected the offer, and AI czar David Sachs said at least five other companies could replace OpenAI. This directly contradicts CEO Sam Altman’s public statements that the company does not want government support.
The 11-page letter submitted to the Office of Science and Technology Policy called for expanded tax credits and the deployment of “grants, cost-sharing agreements, loans, or loan guarantees to expand industrial infrastructure capacity” for AI data centers and grid components. The letter details that “direct funding can also reduce lead times for critical grid components such as transformers, HVDC converters, switchgear, and cables from years to months.”
“Initial investments can be made using existing authorities such as Title III of the Defense Production Act and the Department of Energy’s Office of Loan Programs,” OpenAI said.
Just 10 days later, on November 6, Altman posted on X, “We don’t have and don’t want government guarantees for OpenAI data centers,” adding, “Taxpayers shouldn’t bail out companies that make bad business decisions.”
I would like to clarify a few things.
First, it’s obvious that we don’t have, and don’t want, government guarantees for OpenAI data centers. We believe governments should not decide winners and losers, and taxpayers should not bail out companies that make bad business decisions.
— Sam Altman (@sama) November 6, 2025
The discrepancy came to light after OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar spoke to AFP. wall street journal At the Nov. 5 event, it was announced that a federal “backstop” could help reduce financing costs and increase debt capacity for AI infrastructure.
Her comments sparked intense backlash. For example, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis tweeted that the government should not bail out technology companies. “There will be no federal bailout for AI,” Sachs wrote.
Frier quickly retracted his comments on LinkedIn, saying that OpenAI is not seeking government support for infrastructure development.
“I would like to clarify my comments today: OpenAI is not seeking a government backstop for our infrastructure efforts. I used the word ‘backstop’ to obscure the point,” she wrote. “As the full text of my response shows, I argue that America’s technological strength comes from building true industrial capability, and the private sector and government must play a role in that.”
Altman’s lengthy “X” post the next day amplified this message. “Our CFO talked about government funding yesterday and then clarified his point and emphasized that he could have worded things more clearly. As I said, I believe the U.S. government should have a national strategy for its own AI infrastructure,” his tweet reads.
Of course, this move was met with a backlash.
Gary Marcus, an AI researcher, published an Oct. 27 letter calling Altman’s denials “lies” and pointing out that the letter explicitly requested the very loan guarantees Altman had said he didn’t want. This letter continues to be published on OpenAI’s content distribution network.
This is not the first time Altman’s comments have come under intense scrutiny. OpenAI’s board of directors furloughed him in November 2023 for “consistently not being candid,” according to a board statement. Former board member Helen Toner later detailed on a podcast how Altman withheld information and made it difficult for the board to fulfill its oversight duties. Concerns about Altman’s candor are further documented in a recent deposition from former OpenAI principal scientist Ilya Satskeva, who voted to fire Altman.
OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Oct. 27 letter and the apparent contradictions with Altman’s statements.