White House AI and Crypto Czar David Sachs attends a meeting of the White House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Education in the East Room of the White House on September 4, 2025 in Washington, DC, USA.
brian snyder reuter
“There is no federal bailout for AI,” venture capitalist David Sachs, President Donald Trump’s artificial intelligence and crypto czar, said Thursday.
“There are at least five major frontier model companies in the United States. If one fails, others will take its place,” Sachs wrote in a post about X.
Sachs’ comments came after OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar said Wednesday that the company wants to establish an ecosystem of private equity, banks and federal government “backstops” or “guarantees” that can help finance infrastructure investments.
She later softened her stance in a LinkedIn post, saying OpenAI was not seeking government support for its infrastructure efforts. She said the use of the word “backstop” clouded her argument.
“As the full text of my response indicates, I was arguing that America’s technological strength comes from building real industrial capacity, which requires the private sector and government to play a role,” Friar wrote.
The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. OpenAI directed CNBC to Friar’s LinkedIn post.
Sachs said the Trump administration wants to make permitting and generation easier, and the goal is to encourage rapid infrastructure development without raising household electricity rates.
“Just to be clear, I don’t think anyone was actually seeking relief (that would be ridiculous),” he wrote.
