OpenAI has raised a critical alert about a widening “electron gap” that could determine the balance of power in the global #AI race. According to the company, China added 429 GW of new power capacity in 2024 over eight times that of the U.S., signaling an aggressive national push to secure the energy backbone required for large-scale AI computing.
As AI infrastructure rapidly scales, energy availability is emerging as the ultimate bottleneck. OpenAI cautioned that if the U.S. doesn’t double its annual power additions, it risks falling behind not in innovation, but in the raw ability to fuel compute-intensive AI models that demand massive, continuous energy. The company’s warning reflects growing anxiety among global tech leaders about the energy economics of intelligence where nations with surplus, renewable, or scalable power will dominate the next phase of AI evolution.
With this shift, energy policy has become inseparable from AI strategy. The competition is no longer just about algorithms or chips, but about who controls the electricity that powers intelligence marking a new frontier in global technological rivalry.
