California: US chipmaking giant Nvidia has announced plans to invest up to $100 billion (£73 billion) in OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, in what both companies have described as a strategic partnership.
The deal will see Nvidia supply advanced processors and build data centres to accelerate OpenAI’s push toward next-generation artificial intelligence infrastructure. The move marks one of the largest single commitments in the global AI race, where China continues to emerge as a rival force.
Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company, said the funding would support OpenAI’s mission to build artificial general intelligence (AGI) that benefits all of humanity. Jensen Huang, chief executive of Nvidia stated that, “This is the next leap forward that will power the next era of intelligence.”
The partnership extends beyond the two companies, with both already collaborating with major tech players, including Microsoft, Oracle, SoftBank, and Stargate.
OpenAI, which now reports over 700 million weekly active users, said the alliance would drive new AI breakthroughs and deliver them at scale. Sam Altman, cofounder and CEO of OpenAI, called the deal a milestone partnership to empower people and businesses worldwide.
The announcement follows Nvidia’s recent investments in the sector, including a $5 billion stake in Intel and $2.7 billion (£2 billion) funding in the UK’s AI ecosystem.
Rising geopolitical tensions
Nvidia’s dominance has not gone unchallenged. China recently accused the firm of breaching anti-monopoly laws and ordered leading technology companies to suspend purchases of its AI chips.
The move came after Washington barred the export of advanced AI processors to China. Nvidia and AMD later agreed to pay the US government 15 percent of revenues generated from Chinese operations to secure export licences.
Despite the mounting political and regulatory pressures, Nvidia’s shares climbed 4 percent in US trading following the announcement.
OpenAI cofounder Greg Brockman noted that the two companies had been working together since the early days, highlighting the long-standing relationship now set to expand significantly. Details of the $100 billion deal will be finalised in the coming weeks.
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