OpenAI raises $110 billion in a new financing round. Amazon is investing up to $50 billion, Nvidia and SoftBank $30 billion each. This values the ChatGPT creator at $840 billion and paves the way for an IPO later this year.
Amazon is making an initial investment of $15 billion, with the remaining $35 billion to follow in the coming months, subject to certain conditions. In August last year, OpenAI was still aiming for a valuation of $500 billion. The current $840 billion shows how quickly expectations in the AI sector have risen.
The funding is intended to support OpenAI’s data center expenses. Major tech companies and investors hope that a closer relationship with ChatGPT’s creator will give them a head start in the AI race. At the same time, Amazon is preparing for its own $200 billion investment in AI infrastructure.
Amazon becomes exclusive cloud partner for OpenAI Frontier
The investment is accompanied by a new cloud agreement. OpenAI will use 2 gigawatts of computing power, powered by Amazon’s own Trainium chips. In addition, AWS will become the exclusive external cloud provider for OpenAI Frontier, the enterprise platform that allows customers to build, deploy, and manage AI agents.
OpenAI Frontier focuses on organizations that want to deploy AI agents independently. With AWS as its exclusive partner, OpenAI is opting for a clear infrastructure strategy on the enterprise side.
Microsoft retains exclusive access to APIs and models
The new agreement does not affect the existing relationship with Microsoft. Microsoft Azure will remain the exclusive cloud provider for the OpenAI APIs that provide access to the models. OpenAI’s own products will also continue to run on Azure, and Microsoft will retain its exclusive license and access to OpenAI’s models and intellectual property.
There is still uncertainty about Nvidia. It is unclear whether the $30 billion investment replaces the earlier commitment announced in September, in which Nvidia would invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI.
The funding round comes ahead of OpenAI’s expected IPO later this year.
Tip: OpenAI brings AI coworkers to enterprises through Frontier Alliances