Binance’s CZ in talks with Sam Altman to explore AI investments

Binance
founder
Changpeng
Zhao
appears
to
be
eyeing
investments
in
data
centers
focused
on
AI
as
part
of
his
exploration
into
new
investment
opportunities.

Ex-Binance
boss
Changpeng
Zhao
(CZ)
reportedly
engaged
in
multiple
discussions
with

OpenAI
CEO
Sam
Altman
as
he
explores
new
ventures,
despite
the
potential
of
facing
three
years
in
prison
for
allegedly
permitting
various
money-laundering
schemes
on
his
exchange,
the
New
York
Times

has
learned,
citing
people
familiar
with
the
matter.

The
details
of
Zhao’s
talks
with
Altman
remain
slim,
with
the
sources
only
saying
that
the
former
Binance
head
is
particularly
interested
in
artificial
intelligence.
According
to
the
report,
Zhao
first
met
Altman
in
2023,
before
stepping
down
as
a
chief
executive
at
Binance.
After
changes
in
leadership
at
OpenAI
in
late
November,
the
people
said
Zhao
and
Altman
held
another
round
of
talks.

In
December
2023,
Zhao
confirmed
during
a
meeting
with
Ronghui
Gu,
a
computer
science
professor
at
Columbia
University,
that
he
had
communicated
with
Altman.
In
an
interview
with
the
New
York
Times,
Gu
said
that
Zhao
and
Altman
both
“believe
that
A.I.
is
going
to
help
a
lot
in
actualizing
the
development
of
technology
and
human
knowledge.”

Gu
also
added
that
the
Binance
founder
mentioned
that
he
was
“looking
for
opportunities”
to
invest
in
the
large
data
centers
that
power
AI
applications,
though
Zhao’s
preferred
investment
target
—
OpenAI
or
its
rivals
—
remains
unclear.

Today,
I
stepped
down
as
CEO
of
Binance.
Admittedly,
it
was
not
easy
to
let
go
emotionally.
But
I
know
it
is
the
right
thing
to
do.
I
made
mistakes,
and
I
must
take
responsibility.
This
is
best
for
our
community,
for
Binance,
and
for
myself.

Binance
is
no
longer
a
baby.
It
is…

—
CZ
🔶
BNB
(@cz_binance)

November
21,
2023

In

an
X
post
in
November,
Zhao
publicly
talked
about
his
plans
after
his
legal
issues,
mentioning
his
interest
in
investing
in
web3,
decentralized
finance,
and
artificial
intelligence.

“After
that,
my
current
thinking
is
I
will
probably
do
some
passive
investing,
being
a
minority
token/shareholder
in
startups
in
areas
of
blockchain/Web3/DeFi,
AI
and
biotech.”

Changpeng
Zhao

Meanwhile,
U.S.
prosecutors

seek
a
36-month
prison
sentence
for
Zhao,
citing
the
severity
of
his
alleged
crimes.
They
argue
that
such
a
punishment
would
deter
Zhao
and
others
from
flouting
U.S.
laws
for
financial
gain.
Zhao,
who
pleaded
guilty
to
violating
the
Bank
Secrecy
Act
in
November
2023,
currently
awaits
sentencing,
scheduled
for
Apr.
30.
Despite
being
free
on
a
$175
million
bond,
his
request
to
travel
to
Dubai
was
denied
by
a
U.S.
judge
due
to
concerns
about
his
substantial
wealth
and
potential
flight
risk.