Sen. Warren urges Trump admin to expand AI credit after OpenAI letter
When Senator Elizabeth Warren reached out to the White House, it felt like a rare move, she’s asking the Trump administration to take another look at a tax break that was originally meant for chip fabs. Lawmakers are wrestling with how to keep the U.S. competitive, especially now that building AI-focused data centers can cost more than a typical semiconductor plant.
The Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit (AMIC) has long been tied to semiconductor makers, but many in the industry say the surge in AI workloads probably calls for a wider reading. Warren’s note adds her voice to a growing chorus of tech firms that are looking for tax relief to grow server farms and the back-end gear needed for large-language models. By flagging the issue now, she seems hoping to shape policy before the next wave of AI spending hits the market.
The push raises a bigger question: should a credit aimed at silicon chips be stretched to cover the hardware that runs artificial intelligence?
Warren also pointed out that OpenAI sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo’s deputy, Kris Kratsios, in October, asking the administration to expand AMIC, still officially for semiconductor manufacturers, to include AI server production and data-center costs.
However, Warren notes that OpenAI wrote a letter to Kratsios in October, requesting that the Trump administration expand the government-funded Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit (AMIC) -- which is supposed to go toward semiconductor manufacturers -- to support AI server production and data centers. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said last week that the company does "not have or want government guarantees for OpenAI datacenters," adding that "taxpayers should not bail out companies that make bad business decisions." Despite the billions that AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic are pouring into the technology, they're seeing far less in return, raising questions about what might happen to these startups if AI demand doesn't pan out.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren has shot a letter over to David Sacks and Michael Kratsios, asking for any details on a plan that might use taxpayer money to prop up AI companies. She points out President Trump’s long-standing ties to donors in the sector, so the request flags a possible conflict - a bailout could end up helping executives and shareholders more than the public.
At the same time, OpenAI has been pushing those same officials to widen the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit, which was originally written for semiconductor makers, so it would also cover AI-server builds and data-center gear. The idea is to stretch a tax credit the government already funds, but the agency hasn’t said yet whether it will actually tweak the program. Critics worry that expanding the credit might blur the line between genuine manufacturing support and a backdoor subsidy for private AI firms.
I’m not sure the White House will move past a polite reply to an actual policy shift. Until an official answer shows up, we can’t really tell how big the credit could get or what impact it might have.
Further Reading
- Papers with Code - Latest NLP Research - Papers with Code
- Hugging Face Daily Papers - Hugging Face
- ArXiv CS.CL (Computation and Language) - ArXiv
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Common Questions Answered
Why does Sen. Elizabeth Warren want the Trump administration to expand the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit (AMIC) for AI?
Sen. Warren argues that the current AMIC, which targets semiconductor fabs, does not reflect the high costs of building AI‑focused data centers. She believes expanding the credit to cover AI server production would help keep the United States competitive without resorting to taxpayer bailouts.
What specific request did OpenAI make to Michael Kratsios regarding the AMIC?
OpenAI sent a letter in October asking Kratsios to broaden the government‑funded AMIC so it could support AI server production and data center construction. The company wants the credit to apply beyond semiconductor manufacturers to cover its AI infrastructure needs.
How did OpenAI CEO Sam Altman respond to the idea of government guarantees for its data centers?
Altman stated that OpenAI neither has nor wants government guarantees for its data centers, emphasizing that taxpayers should not be used to bail out the company. He highlighted the firm’s preference for private financing over public subsidies.
What potential conflict of interest does Sen. Warren highlight in her letter to David Sacks and Michael Kratsios?
Warren points out President Trump’s close ties to industry donors, suggesting that using taxpayer money to support AI firms could favor executives and shareholders. She flags this as a possible conflict that could undermine fair competition and public trust.