Inside OpenAI’s 10-Year Plan to Reshore its AI Supply Chain
OpenAI, the company that transformed our digital space with ChatGPT, is now setting its focus on the tangible world.
The firm has initiated an extensive Request for Proposals (RFP) to restructure its hardware supply chain.
More than a simple procurement process, it is part of a decade-long strategic blueprint designed to localise advanced manufacturing and establish dominance in the emerging "Intelligence Age".
The programme, announced on 15 January 2026, aims to create a robust, US-based ecosystem for the components that will shape the coming decade: consumer electronics, robotics and the extensive data centres needed to support increasingly sophisticated AI models.
Strategic independence through manufacturing
The RFP presents an ambitious vision for the future, extending beyond software into the complex realm of silicon, motors and cooling systems.
OpenAI is searching for collaborators who can assist them in achieving what they characterise as a "Silicon Renaissance" – a shift back to domestic manufacturing that guarantees supply chain stability and national leadership.
According to the RFP document, "OpenAI has a long-term ambition to establish US-based hardware manufacturing and assembly that reflects US values, supports resilient supply chains, and fosters national innovation leadership".
The objective stems from the conviction that for AI to achieve its complete potential, the infrastructure underpinning it must be as innovative as the algorithms themselves.
Which sectors are driving the expansion?
OpenAI's growth is organised around three essential sectors, each demanding a sophisticated network of suppliers and manufacturers.
Consumer devices: The firm is advancing into final assembly, PCB assembly and the creation of advanced displays and optics. This could suggest a future where OpenAI-branded hardware might become commonplace in everyday life.
Robotics: To integrate AI into the physical workspace, OpenAI is pursuing "critical inputs" such as actuators, precision bearings, gearboxes and power electronics.
Data centres: Potentially the most capital-intensive sector, this concentrates on the "unseen" infrastructure. This encompasses power systems, like generators, transformers and UPS, and advanced cooling technologies like chillers and cold plates.
The magnitude of this endeavour is substantial.
As the RFP document states: "Over the next 10 years, OpenAI seeks to localize significant portions of the manufacturing for its hardware devices and data centres, including key components, modules and final assembly".
All supply chain, sustainability, Scope 3 and net zero leaders should attend:
- Procurement and Supply Chain LIVE: The Net Zero Summit - QEII Centre, London, March 4-5
- Procurement and Supply Chain LIVE: The US Summit - Navy Pier, Chicago, April 21-22
Co-located with Sustainability LIVE, these events brings together CSCOs, CSOs and senior decision-makers at a moment when sustainability, supply chains and commercial performance are increasingly interconnected.
Tickets can be booked online today for The Net Zero Summit and The US Summit. Group discounts available.
Building infrastructure for AI dominance
The initiative follows the trajectory of the Stargate Project, launched in March 2025.
OpenAI has already achieved considerable progress towards its 10-gigawatt power commitment, with capacity plans now exceeding the halfway mark.
The company's leadership believes that "infrastructure has long been destiny when it comes to America's economic success, and that will be especially true in the Intelligence Age".
Through investment in domestic production, the company seeks to "catalyse US manufacturing, modernise our energy grid, create well-paid jobs and strengthen American leadership."
The RFP document emphasises that the discussion around AI often begins and ends with chips, but the reality is considerably more intricate.
The company notes that "advanced AI depends on a much broader ecosystem of physical components: the racks, cabling, networking gear, cooling systems, power systems, power electronics, electromechanical modules and testing and assembly capacity are all required to bring it all online at scale".
It this a recognition that the most advanced digital minds are ultimately only as capable as the physical world allows them to be?
