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Nvidia Corp will invest as much as US$100 billion in OpenAI to support new data centres and other artificial intelligence infrastructure.
This blockbuster deal underscores booming demand for AI tools like ChatGPT and the computing power needed to make them run. The companies announced the agreement on Monday, stating that they had signed a letter of intent for a strategic partnership. The investment is meant to help OpenAI build data centres with a capacity of at least 10 gigawatts of power, equipped with Nvidia’s advanced chips to train and deploy AI models.
The money will be provided in stages, with the first US$10 billion coming when the deal is signed, according to people familiar with the matter.
Nvidia is making the cash investment and will receive OpenAI equity as part of the deal, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks were private. Further increments will follow when each gigawatt of computing power is deployed.
Investors applauded the tie-up, sending Nvidia shares up 3,9 percent in New York trading. The stock has now gained about 37 percent this year, cementing the company’s status as the most valuable business on Earth. OpenAI, meanwhile, is the world’s biggest tech startup.
Bloomberg News reported last month that it was in early talks about a stock sale valuing the company at US$500 billion. Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang described a deal with OpenAI as the next leap forward.
The companies are helping lead a global push to build data centers for a new generation of AI tools, an undertaking that is expected to cost trillions of dollars in total. — Bloomberg
