WorkThe story, in brief
AI and compute
300,000x. That's how much compute in AI training has grown since 2012—44x faster than Moore's Law.
The KeyNews take
Why it matters
OpenAI's landmark analysis establishes compute scaling as the primary driver of AI progress, signaling that infrastructure constraints and exponential resource requirements will define the next decade of AI development. This frames the compute arms race as a strategic bottleneck for founders and investors.
The key facts
5 to knowCompute in largest AI training runs doubles every 3.4 months since 2012
300,000x total growth in training compute since 2012
Moore's Law doubling period: 2 years (would yield only 7x growth over same period)
Compute identified as key component of AI progress trajectory
Published May 2018 by OpenAI
Go to the source
OpenAI Blogopenai.com
Publisher excerpt: We’re releasing an analysis showing that since 2012, the amount of compute used in the largest AI training runs has been increasing exponentially with a 3.4-month doubling time (by comparison, Moore’s Law had a 2-year doubling period)[^footnote-correction]. Since 2012, this metric has grown by more…