Update (1320ET): As (completely unfounded) rumors swirl over the OpenAI board's sudden shock firing of CEO and co-founder Sam Altman, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter, that in recent weeks, Altman was actively working to raise billions from some of the world's largest investors for a new chip venture to reportedly rival NVDA's.

The project - code-named Tigris - saw Altman traveling extensively to the Middle East, seeking tens of billions of dollars from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Mubadala Investment Company, SoftBank Group, and others for an AI-focused hardware device that he's been developing in tandem with former Apple design chief Jony Ive.