OpenAI purchase‑order allegation
A social analysis alleges OpenAI submitted large, non‑genuine purchase orders that may have inflated global memory‑chip prices — an unconfirmed claim that has stirred debate about AI demand’s supply‑chain impact. The report is circulating but remains speculative and unverified. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
The viral X thread was posted by user @aakashgupta on March 29, 2026 and alleges OpenAI signed LOIs for 900,000 DRAM wafers per month—about 40% of global DRAM output according to the post (timesofindia.indiatimes.com). (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) OpenAI’s own Oct. 1, 2025 announcement says Samsung Electronics and SK hynix joined its Stargate initiative and that the parties planned to scale to “900,000 DRAM wafer starts per month” via partnerships and MoUs (openai.com). (openai.com) The thread asserts those were letters of intent rather than binding purchase orders and cites specific market moves—claiming contract DRAM prices rose 171% and that a 64GB DDR5 retail kit moved from about $190 to $700 in a three‑month span (timesofindia.indiatimes.com). (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) Multiple industry outlets from late 2025 framed the 900,000‑wafer figure as a preliminary target and reported that Samsung and SK together account for roughly 70% of DRAM production, a concentration the thread highlights as amplifying market reactions (tomshardware.com). (tomshardware.com) Bloomberg reported on March 6, 2026 that Oracle and OpenAI ended plans to expand the Abilene, Texas Stargate site, citing stalled financing talks and changing demand forecasts as factors behind the cancelled expansion (bloomberg.com). (bloomberg.com) OpenAI’s public materials consistently describe the Korea agreements as strategic partnerships and MoUs to boost capacity and evaluate data‑center builds—language that industry analysts say can indicate intent without constituting firm, legally binding purchase orders (openai.com). (openai.com)
