Nvidia is close to finalising a $30 billion equity investment in OpenAI, the Financial Times reported Thursday, in a deal that replaces the $100 billion multiyear infrastructure commitment the two companies announced last September. CNBC independently confirmed the discussions the same day, with a source stating the $30 billion is not tied to any deployment milestones. The deal could close as early as this weekend, per the FT.
The September arrangement was structured as a letter of intent, not a binding contract. Under it, Nvidia committed to investing in ten $10 billion instalments as OpenAI brought new supercomputing facilities online, including data centres with a capacity of at least 10 gigawatts of power, the equivalent of New York City's peak electricity demand. Nvidia's own quarterly financial report in November disclosed there was "no assurance that we will enter into definitive agreements with respect to the OpenAI opportunity." The Wall Street Journal had flagged the deal as "on ice" back in January.
Jensen Huang addressed it directly while speaking to reporters in Taipei on February 1. "It was never a commitment," Huang told reporters, per Bloomberg. "They invited us to invest up to $100 billion and of course we were very happy and honored that they invited us, but we will invest one step at a time." He described Nvidia's eventual investment as "huge" and potentially "the largest investment we have ever made," without specifying the figure.
Sam Altman posted on X: "We love working with Nvidia and they make the best AI chips in the world. We hope to be a gigantic customer for a very long time. I don't get where all this insanity is coming from." Huang, separately speaking with CNBC's Jim Cramer, said there was "no question" Nvidia would participate in OpenAI's next funding round.
Damilare Odedina
Who Else Is In the Round — And What OpenAI Plans to Do With the Capital
The $30 billion forms part of a larger funding round that the FT reports is on track to raise more than $100 billion in total. The FT puts OpenAI's pre-money valuation at $730 billion, excluding the new capital being raised. Reuters, citing a separate source, reports the figure at approximately $830 billion including new investment, to be one of the largest private capital raises on record.
SoftBank is in the final stages of negotiations to invest $30 billion. Amazon could contribute up to $50 billion as part of a broader partnership covering use of OpenAI's models. Abu Dhabi's state-backed tech fund MGX and Microsoft are also expected to participate. OpenAI executives have been meeting with venture capitalists this week to bring in additional investors, per the FT.
OpenAI plans to spend approximately $600 billion on computing resources including from Nvidia, Amazon, and Microsoft between now and 2030, according to people familiar with the discussions cited by the FT. The company's annualised revenue crossed $20 billion, with both revenue and computing capacity roughly tripling annually.
The $30 billion arrangement does not close the door on future infrastructure deals. Per CNBC's source, Nvidia could still invest in subsequent rounds that align with the original September framework.
The discussions have not been finalised and details remain subject to change as both OpenAI and Nvidia haven’t made a public statement on this yet.
Ogbonda Chivumnovu
